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Updated: Jul 11, 2026

Noninvasive Sampling of Mucosal Lining Fluid for the Quantification of In Vivo Upper Airway Immune-mediator Levels
Published on: August 7, 2017
[Study on the relations between concentration of endotoxin in dwelling and atopic asthma in school-age children]
Dong Hu1, Rong-bo Zhang, Jing Wu
1School of Medicine, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan 232001, China.
Objective:
To explore the effect of endotoxin concentration in dwellings on the prevalence of atopic asthma in children.
Methods:
Standardized questionnaires of asthma were distributed to the parents of 2986 school children aged between 8 and 12 years and endotoxin content in children's mattress was measured by a kinetic limulus assay. A radioallergosorbent technique--fluorescence enzyme immunoassay (RAST-FEIA) was used to measure the level of specific IgE in serum.
Results:
Complete data was available for 904 children with males more than females. There were both negative associations seen between endotoxin levels and both atopic asthma (OR = 0.48, 95% CI: 0.32-0.72, P < 0.05) and atopic sensitization (OR = 0.65, 95% CI: 0.49-0.94, P < 0.05) but not with non-atopic asthma and wheeze. Comparing with normal people, patients with atopic sensitization, atopic wheeze and atopic asthma had a higher levels of endotoxin (M-W U: 15 138.0, P < 0.01, M-W U: 4858.0, P < 0.01, M-W U: 4041.0, P < 0.01).
Conclusion:
Exposure to endotoxin in early lives of children might have a protective effect on atopic asthma and sensitization.
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