Eosinophilic airway inflammation is a main feature of unstable asthma in adolescents.

BACKGROUND: Stability of asthma is a clinical phenotype of the disease based on long-term evaluation of control of asthma symptoms and its exacerbations. A relationship between airway inflammation and clinical classification of asthma based on stability criterion has not been well studied.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of our study was to analyze the inflammation profile of stable and unstable asthma in adolescents treated with moderate and high doses of inhaled corticosteroids.

METHODS: 139 young asthmatics of 16.8 (3.25) years were classified in the stable group (N = 72) and unstable group (N = 67) after a 3-month prospective observation. Inflammatory markers including cytogram of the induced sputum (IS), fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) and bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) following provocation with hypertonic saline and exercises, as well as clinical and spirometric parameters in both groups were compared.

RESULTS: 75% of patients with unstable asthma revealed elevated percentage of eosinophils in the induced sputum (>2.5%), and mean values were significantly higher in comparison with stable asthma: 2.0 (0,5-4,2) vs 5,5 (2,6-11,3), p < 0,001. Bronchial hyperresponsiveness was markedly higher in unstable asthma, especially in asthma with eosinophilic profile; statistically significant differences also related to functional pulmonary tests. In multivariate analysis, asthma instability was significantly associated with sEos (p = 0.005), BHR (p = 0.001) but not FeNO (p = 0.24).

CONCLUSION (AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE): Eosinophilic inflammation, relatively resistant to high doses of inhaled corticosteroids, is a dominant type of inflammation in unstable asthma in adolescents. Asthma instability is also associated with higher bronchial hyperresponsiveness and lower spirometric parameters. In the light of the new studies and progress in biological methods of therapy of eosinophilic inflammation, unstable asthma, especially in case of severe course, requires extended diagnostics with determination of inflammatory phenotype.