Sputum quality affects assessment of airway microbiology in childhood asthma.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The analysis of sputum is the principal basis for characterising lower airway microbiology in those with chronic respiratory conditions. For such analysis to be informative, samples that poorly reflect the lower airways must be identified and removed. Our cross-sectional study explored the relationship between the quality of sputum samples and their microbiological content. We further investigated the impact of excluding low quality samples on observed microbiota-disease relationships in childhood asthma.

Methods

Induced sputum was collected from children with or without asthma. Sputum quality was assessed according to squamous cell%, cell viability%, detection of sputum plugs, and salivary α-amylase levels. Sputum microbiota was characterised by 16S rRNA amplicon

SUBMITTER: Taylor SL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12139374 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature