
Subjects whose serum CRP levels by standard assay were >10 mg
m −2) and systemic inflammatory disorders (such as collagen vascular diseases) were excluded clinically and serologically. Subjects with heart disease, diabetes mellitus, cancer status, obesity (body mass index (BMI) ≥30 kg None of the subjects was a smoker or had a respiratory tract infection or exacerbation of asthma during the month before enrolment. day −1 expressed as the equivalent dose of CFC-beclomethasone dipropionate) (ICS+ group) and 22 steroid-naive patients treated with short-acting inhaled β 2-agonists as required (ICS- group), were cross-sectionally studied. Healthy controls (n = 14) and two groups of adult patients with asthma diagnosed according to American Thoracic Society criteria 14, 23 patients receiving ICS (967☓72 μg The relationship of serum hs-CRP levels to clinical indices and inflammatory cell differentials were then investigated in induced sputum. In the present study, the serum levels of hs-CRP of asthmatic patients with and without inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) treatment were compared with those of healthy controls. However, correlation between serum hs-CRP levels and airway inflammation in asthma has not been examined to date. Thus hs-CRP could theoretically also be a useful tool for detecting systemic inflammation in asthma indeed, an association between serum hs-CRP level and severity of asthma has been suggested 13. Beside local inflammation, systemic inflammation is present in asthma, as shown by increased levels of plasma fibrinogen and serum amyloid A 12. Another recent epidemiological study showed that elevated levels of hs-CRP correlate significantly with respiratory symptoms and with prevalence of nonallergic asthma 11.Īsthma is characterised by airway hyperresponsiveness and inflammation, in which various cells (such as eosinophils, neutrophils, macrophages and T-lymphocytes), cytokines and mediators play a role. Furthermore, a recent population-based study showed associations of increased levels of serum hs-CRP with a high frequency of airway hyperresponsiveness and low forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV 1) among subjects without heart disease 10, suggesting that systemic inflammation may be associated with respiratory impairment. Serum hs-CRP levels can be a prognostic marker for the development of diabetes mellitus 7 or future cardiovascular events 8, 9. Measurement of serum hs-CRP levels has suggested the involvement of low-grade systemic inflammation in several disorders, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus 3– 6. Recently, high-sensitivity assays for CRP (hs-CRP) have become available in clinical laboratories. L −1, lack the sensitivity required to determine levels of inflammation within the normal range 2. However, standard assays for CRP, with a lower detection limit of 3–8 mg Serum levels of the well-known inflammatory marker C-reactive protein (CRP) can be simply and inexpensively measured in order to assess systemic inflammation 1.
In conclusion, an increase in serum C-reactive protein levels measured by high-sensitivity assays may be associated with airflow obstruction and airway inflammation, and may serve as a surrogate marker of airway inflammation in asthma. Among patients on inhaled corticosteroid, hs-CRP levels did not correlate with any indices.
Among steroid-naive patients, serum hs-CRP levels significantly negatively correlated with indices of pulmonary function (forced expiratory volume in one second/forced vital capacity and forced mid-expiratory flow) and positively with sputum eosinophil count.
L −1), but not in patients on inhaled corticosteroid. Serum hs-CRP levels were significantly increased in steroid-naive patients (mean± sd 1.33☑.48 mg Serum hs-CRP levels were cross-sectionally examined in steroid-naive (n = 22) and steroid-inhaling (n = 23) adult patients with asthma and healthy controls (n = 14). The objective was to examine serum hs-CRP levels in patients with asthma and their relationship to clinical characteristics and degree of airway inflammation. Asthma is characterised by chronic inflammation of the airways, but the relevance of high-sensitivity assays for C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), which are known to be a sensitive marker of low-grade systemic inflammation, has not been fully studied in asthma.