Abstract：
BACKGROUND: Chronic cough is a common symptom, addressed in the clinical setting by empirical treatment together with some laboratory investigations. The aim of the present study was to investigate the value of testing eosinophilic cationic protein (ECP) serum levels combined with other diagnostic procedures and empirical treatment in the diagnostic workup of chronic cough.
METHODS: In this study, we evaluated 194 patients with chronic cough. No subject had received any anti-inflammatory treatment before clinical evaluation, and none was an active smoker. ECP was measured with a commercially available fluoroenzyme immunoassay and results were expressed as µg/L.
RESULTS: The analysis of variance showed that mean ECP level differs among the various diagnosis categories (P<0.001). Mean ECP level was significantly higher in asthmatic patients, particularly in the active disease.
CONCLUSIONS: Serum ECP concentration could represent a useful biomarker in the clinical work-up of chronic cough, managing to differentiate asthma from other chronic disorders.
METHODS: In this study, we evaluated 194 patients with chronic cough. No subject had received any anti-inflammatory treatment before clinical evaluation, and none was an active smoker. ECP was measured with a commercially available fluoroenzyme immunoassay and results were expressed as µg/L.
RESULTS: The analysis of variance showed that mean ECP level differs among the various diagnosis categories (P<0.001). Mean ECP level was significantly higher in asthmatic patients, particularly in the active disease.
CONCLUSIONS: Serum ECP concentration could represent a useful biomarker in the clinical work-up of chronic cough, managing to differentiate asthma from other chronic disorders.
摘要：
背景：慢性咳嗽是一种常见症状，通过经验治疗和一些实验室调查在临床环境中解决。本研究的目的是研究检测嗜酸性粒细胞阳离子蛋白（ECP）血清水平与其他诊断程序和经验治疗在慢性咳嗽诊断检查中的价值。
方法：在本研究中，我们评估了194例慢性咳嗽患者.在临床评估之前，没有受试者接受过任何抗炎治疗，没有一个是活跃的吸烟者。用市售的荧光酶免疫测定法测定ECP，结果以µg/L表示。
结果：方差分析显示不同诊断类别的平均ECP水平不同（P<0.001）。哮喘患者的平均ECP水平明显更高，特别是在活动性疾病中。
结论：血清ECP浓度可能是慢性咳嗽临床检查中有用的生物标志物，设法将哮喘与其他慢性疾病区分开来。
方法：在本研究中，我们评估了194例慢性咳嗽患者.在临床评估之前，没有受试者接受过任何抗炎治疗，没有一个是活跃的吸烟者。用市售的荧光酶免疫测定法测定ECP，结果以µg/L表示。
结果：方差分析显示不同诊断类别的平均ECP水平不同（P<0.001）。哮喘患者的平均ECP水平明显更高，特别是在活动性疾病中。
结论：血清ECP浓度可能是慢性咳嗽临床检查中有用的生物标志物，设法将哮喘与其他慢性疾病区分开来。
