Evaluation of Exhaled Breath Condensate in the Diagnosis of Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis

Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) is a life-threatening infection in immunocompromised patients. The poor prognosis of the disease is partly attributed to difficulties encountered with the diagnosis of this infection. Invasive sampling procedures are often precluded in these patients. In addition, conventional diagnostic techniques lack sensitivity. Recently there has been increasing interest in the investigation of the lungs by noninvasive means including measurement of biomarkers in exhaled breath (e.g. NO) and those found in the cooled and condensed exhalate,termed EBC. It has been demonstrated that a measurable fraction of the EBC in healthy subjects is derived from aerosolized airway lining fluid. The presence of biomarkers for IPA will be investigated in EBC of patients with IPA, compared to controls.