Does consumption of ethanol distort measurements of exhaled nitric oxide?

SummaryBackground: Measuring FENO is a novel and non-invasive way to monitor airway inflammation (e.g. asthma). This clinical study was designed to investigate whether drinking ethanol might distort FENO measurements.Methods: Twenty healthy subjects drank 0.40g ethanol/kg body weight in 15min. Measurement of FENO started ∼30min before drinking and at various times afterwards for 4h post-dosing. Ethanol concentrations were determined in venous blood by gas chromatography and in end-exhaled breath by infra-red spectrometry.Results: The within subject standard deviation for determination of FENO was 1.3ppb, corresponding to a CV of 7.7%. The mean change in FENO from pre-drinking levels during the 4h testing was statistically significant (P<0.001) according to repeated measures ANOVA. In absolute units the mean change was small, -2.01 and -1.94ppb at 3 and 4h post-dosing, respectively (P<0.013, P