Significance of Exhaled Nitric Oxide and Carbon Monoxide in Auxiliary Diagnosis and Evaluation of Allergic Rhinitis

OBJECTIVE: The concentration of exhaled NO and CO is considered as a candidate marker of respiratory inflammatory disease. This report discusses the exhaled NO and CO in the auxiliary diagnosis and evaluation of allergic rhinitis (AR). METHODS: 60 AR patients from October 2017 to March 2019, compared with 30 healthy controls. The severity of AR disease was distinguished by symptom score. Both groups were tested for exhaled nitric oxide through the nose or mouth and exhale carbon monoxide through the mouth. AR patients received glucocorticoid nasal spray for 1 month and were tested again for nNO, eNO, eCO, and symptom score. RESULTS: Before treatment, all the nNO, eNO, and eCO of the AR group were higher than the control group. There were differences in the severe and moderate subgroup: severe > moderate > mild. eCO was not significantly different between the mild and control groups. The nNO, eNO, and eCO levels were positively correlated with symptom score. After treatment, nNO decreased significantly in the three subgroups; eNO and eCO in the severe AR group decreased significantly. Drawing the ROC curve, the area under curve (AUC) of nNO is 0.978. The AUC of eNO and eCO was 0.786 and 0.577, respectively. CONCLUSION: The nNO, eNO, and eCO in the AR group are higher than healthy people, which positively correlated with the severity of AR symptoms. The detection of nNO, eNO, and eCO can monitor the changes of AR. The detection of nNO level as an indicator of AR auxiliary diagnosis has high accuracy.