Comparison of exhaled and nasal nitric oxide and exhaled carbon monoxide levels in bronchiectatic patients with and without primary ciliary dyskinesia

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Abstract
Background: Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is associated with chronic airway inflammation resulting in bronchiectasis. Methods: The levels of exhaled nitric oxide (eNO), carbon monoxide (eCO) and nasal NO (nNO) from bronchiectatic patients with PCD (n=14) were compared with those from patients with non-PCD bronchiectasis without (n=31) and with cystic fibrosis (CF) (n=20) and from normal subjects (n=37) to assess the clinical usefulness of these measurements in discriminating between PCD and other causes of bronchiectasis. Results: Exhaled NO levels were lower in patients with PCD than in patients with non-PCD non-CF bronchiectasis or healthy subjects (median (range) 2.1 (1.3–3.5) ppb v 8.7 (4.5–26.0) ppb, pv 3.0 (0.5–5.0) ppm). Low values in both eNO and nNO readings (Conclusion: The simultaneous measurement of eNO and nNO is a useful screening tool for PCD.