Factors influencing breath condensate volume

Analysis of breath condensate (BC) has received interest recently due to the need for easy and repetitive monitoring or airway and pulmonary disease. While many authors have used custom built systems, commercial systems are now available and will probably be used more widely. Early studies of markers and mediators in BC have reported concentrations following varying periods of sampling time. However, factors that influence the generation of BC have not been analysed and it is unclear whether breathing rate, tidal volume, lung function, body weight, height or age influence the amount of BC collected. We therefore studied the influence of these factors on breath condensate volume and breath condensate urea and protein concentrations in 22 healthy volunteers and 23 COPD patients. A strong correlation of total respired volume and breath condensate volume was observed for both groups (volunteers: r=0.952, p < 0.0001, COPD: r=0.883, p < 0.001) while no significant correlation existed for breath condensate volume and TLC, RV, Vc, FEV1, R(tot), height or body weight, As long as ventilation remained fairly constant, breath condensate volume increased linearly with time. The fraction of breath condensate extracted from total vapour contained in the exhalate was estimated by measuring relative atmospheric humidity before and after the collecting tube. The amount calculated by the change in temperature and saturation corresponded closely to the amount actually collected. We conclude from these results that breath condensate volume is primarily dependent on V(E), and does not seem to depend on lung function parameters. For standardisation it is suggested to report breath condensate measurements per volume respired. Both, urea and protein are present in measurable quantities in breath condensate and protein as well as BCV may be helpful denominators for comparison with e.g. cytokines in lung disease.