Study subject
A total of 393 bronchial asthmatic children aged between 5 and 12 years,
consisting of 318 stable asthmatics and 75 acute asthma attack sufferers
(47 males and 28 females), were recruited from the pediatric clinics of
the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan, as a part of the ongoing PATCH
study (Prediction of Allergies in Taiwanese Children). A total of 97 (59
males and 38 females) age-matched healthy subjects were enrolled from an
elementary school in Taoyuan City, Taiwan. The diagnosis and
classification of the clinical severity of asthma followed the published
guidelines12. Asthma severity was categorized as mild
(intermittent), moderate and severe, based on the previously described
criteria11. An acute asthma attack was defined as a
patient with dyspnea symptoms and audible expiratory wheeze accompanied
by a 20% reduction in FEV1. Levels of EBC eicosanoids,
FEV1, and FeNO were measured during acute asthma attack
episodes and at two weeks after the acute asthma attacks. For the
management of acute asthma exacerbation, all of the asthmatic children
received terbutaline inhalation and oral prednisolone 1 mg/kg/day for 3
days. In the two weeks prior to EBC collection, none of the patients
took medication containing antipyretics or anti-platelet agents. The
healthy, non-asthmatic, and non-allergic subjects served as normal
controls. This study was approved by the Humane Research Committee of
the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and informed consents were obtained
from patients’ parents or guardians prior to the start of the study.
Additional phenotypes included BMI, serum IgE levels,
FEV1, and FeNO measured as previously
described13.