Examining the exhaled levels of hydrogen peroxide in rheumatoid arthritis: a pilot study

• Published in: Annals of the rheumatic diseases 2006-09, Vol.65 (9), p.1252-1253
• Main Authors: Mikuls, T R, O’Dell, J R, Ertl, R, Bergman, D A, Rennard, S I
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Arthritis, Rheumatoid - diagnosis; BAL; Biological and medical sciences; Biomarkers - analysis; Breath Tests - methods; bronchoalveolar lavage; Diseases of the osteoarticular system; EBC; Ethnicity; exhaled breath condensate; Female; H2O2; Humans; Hydrogen peroxide; Hydrogen Peroxide - analysis; Inflammation; Inflammatory joint diseases; Letters; Lung diseases; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Pilot Projects; Rheumatism; Rheumatoid arthritis; Studies
• ISSN: 0003-4967; 1468-2060
• DOI: 10.1136/ard.2005.050641

Patient characteristics* Patients with RA Controls Age (years), mean (SD) 57.8 (11.9) 48.2 (13.1) Female sex 16 (73) 17 (74) Caucasian race or ethnicity 20 (91) 18 (86) Current smoker 10 (45) 8 (35) RF positive 13 (87) - DMARD use 22 (100) - Methotrexate 16 (73) - Etanercept 3 (14) - Hydroxychloroquine 15 (68) - Sulfasalazine 8 (36) - Minocycline 8 (36) - Other 3 (14) - NSAID use 13 (59) - Prednisone use 15 (68) - *DMARD, disease-modifying antirheumatic drug; -, not measured in the healthy controls; NSAID, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug; RA, rheumatoid arthritis; RF, rheumatoid factor. In addition to controlling for possible circadian changes in expression of H2O2, 8 future studies will need to incorporate methods aimed at more precisely exploring the relationship of EBC levels of H2O2 with measures of disease activity (ie, joint counts and acute-phase reactants), the evolution of extra-articular disease features (ie, interstitial lung disease) and the use of disease-modifying treatments.