OBJECTIVE: To accurately measure human energy metabolism with high temporal resolution, a respiratory gas analysis system was designed using a breath-by-breath approach. METHODS: Firstly, indirect calorimetry was employed in respiratory gas analysis to measure the respiratory flow and concentration signals in real-time. Secondly, oxygen consumption QO2 and carbon dioxide production QCO2 were calculated through respiratory characteristic alignment and respiratory signal segmentation. Finally, metabolic indexes were calculated according to the Weir formula. Furthermore, a controlled trial was formulated for validation comparisons with the MGC ULTIMA SYSTEM PFX CARDIO2. RESULTS: The results indicate that the data points of metabolic indexes measured by this system all fall within the confidence interval when compared with those of the MGC. CONCLUSION The system has high consistency with the MGC measurement results. Thus, the system can accurately measure metabolism in real-time and provide data support for clinical nutrition assessment and therapy.
Humans ; Energy Metabolism ; Breath Tests/instrumentation* ; Calorimetry, Indirect/instrumentation* ; Equipment Design

OBJECTIVES: To study the association of fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) and nasal nitric oxide (nNO) with asthma control and their value in the diagnosis of allergic rhinitis in children. METHODS: A total of 186 children aged 5-12 years, who attended the outpatient service of the Department of Respiration, Shanghai Children's Hospital due to bronchial asthma and/or allergic rhinitis or who underwent physical examination, were enrolled as subjects, with 52 children in the asthma group, 60 children in the asthma+allergic rhinitis group, 36 children in the allergic rhinitis group, and 38 children in the control group. FeNO, nNO, and pulmonary function were compared between groups. RESULTS: The asthma+allergic rhinitis, asthma, and allergic rhinitis groups had a significantly higher level of FeNO than the control group (P<0.05). The asthma+allergic rhinitis and allergic rhinitis groups had a significantly higher level of nNO than the asthma and control groups (P<0.05). The uncontrolled asthma and partially controlled asthma groups had significantly higher levels of FeNO and nNO than the completely controlled asthma group (P<0.05). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed that nNO had an area under the ROC curve of 0.91, with a sensitivity of 80.0% and a specificity of 89.5% in the diagnosis of allergic rhinitis in children with asthma (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS The combined measurement of nNO and FeNO can be used to evaluate the control of asthma, and the measurement of nNO can help with the diagnosis of allergic rhinitis in children with bronchial asthma.
Asthma/diagnosis* ; Breath Tests ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; Fractional Exhaled Nitric Oxide Testing ; Humans ; Nitric Oxide/analysis* ; Rhinitis, Allergic/diagnosis*

Radiotherapy uses high-energy X-rays or other particles to destroy cancer cells and medical practitioners have used this approach extensively for cancer treatment (Hachadorian et al., 2020). However, it is accompanied by risks because it seriously harms normal cells while killing cancer cells. The side effects can lower cancer patients' quality of life and are very unpredictable due to individual differences (Bentzen, 2006). Therefore, it is essential to assess a patient's body damage after radiotherapy to formulate an individualized recovery treatment plan. Exhaled volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can be changed by radiotherapy and thus used for medical diagnosis (Vaks et al., 2012). During treatment, high-energy X-rays can induce apoptosis; meanwhile, cell membranes are damaged due to lipid peroxidation, converting unsaturated fatty acids into volatile metabolites (Losada-Barreiro and Bravo-Díaz, 2017). At the same time, radiotherapy oxidizes water, resulting in reactive oxygen species (ROS) that can increase the epithelial permeability of pulmonary alveoli, enabling the respiratory system to exhale volatile metabolites (Davidovich et al., 2013; Popa et al., 2020). These exhaled VOCs can be used to monitor body damage caused by radiotherapy.
Breath Tests/methods* ; Exhalation ; Humans ; Quality of Life ; Respiratory System/chemistry* ; Volatile Organic Compounds/analysis*

OBJECTIVES: To study the association between milk consumption and lactose malabsorption in Indonesian children aged 3-12 years. METHODS: This cross sectional study was conducted in randomly selected presumed healthy children with good nutritional status aged 3-12 years in Central Jakarta, Indonesia ( RESULTS: The prevalence of lactose malabsorption in children aged 3-5 years and children aged 6-12 years was 20.8% (15/72) and 35.3% (36/102), respectively. There was no association between milk or milk product consumption and lactose malabsorption ( CONCLUSIONS There is no association between milk consumption and lactose malabsorption in Indonesian children aged 3-12 years, suggesting that genetic predisposition may be more important than adaptive mechanisms to lactose consumption.
Animals ; Breath Tests ; Child ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Humans ; Indonesia/epidemiology* ; Lactose Intolerance/epidemiology* ; Milk

Asthma, Occupational ; Breath Tests ; Exhalation ; Humans ; Lung ; Nitric Oxide ; ROC Curve

Lung cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related morbidity and mortality globally, which is the biggest menace to the health and life of the population. Screening and early detection of lung cancer are effective in reducing its mortality, and the measurement of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) has become a promising clinical means for early detection, course detection and prognosis management of lung cancer, with advantages of rapid speed, non-invasiveness and convenience. Now, a variety of VOCs collection ways and analysis methods have emerged at home and abroad. This report summarized three aspects, including VOCs collection, multiple methods of analysis and progress in the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer. At last, we discussed the limitations and prospects of VOCs analysis.
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Breath Tests ; Early Detection of Cancer ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms/diagnosis* ; Volatile Organic Compounds

BACKGROUND/AIMS: This study aimed to identify the demographic and clinical factors associated with positive breath-test results and to assess the relationship between hydrogen and methane production in patients with suspected irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).METHODS: The demographic and clinical factors of 268 patients with suspected IBS, who had undergone a lactulose breath test, were analyzed.RESULTS: Of 268 patients included in this study, 143 (53.4%) were females. The median age and BMI of the patients was 58.0 years (range, 18.0–80.0 years) and 22.5 kg/m² (range, 14.4–34.3 kg/m²), respectively. A weak positive correlation was observed between the BMI and baseline hydrogen level (rho=0.134, p=0.031). Women were significantly more likely to show a ≥20 ppm increase in hydrogen within 90 min (early hydrogen increase, p=0.049), a ≥10 ppm increase in methane within 90 min (early methane increase, p=0.001), and a ≥10 ppm increase in methane between 90 min and 180 min (late methane increase, p=0.002) compared to men. The baseline hydrogen level was related to the baseline methane level (rho=0.592, p<0.001) and the maximal hydrogen level within 90 min was related to maximal methane level within 90 min (rho=0.721, p<0.001). Patients with an early hydrogen increase (43.8%) were more likely to show a positive result for an early methane increase compared to patients without an early increase in hydrogen (0%, p<0.001).CONCLUSIONS: Women were associated with high rates of positive lactulose breath-test results. In addition, methane production was correlated with hydrogen production.
Breath Tests ; Female ; Humans ; Hydrogen ; Irritable Bowel Syndrome ; Lactulose ; Male ; Methane ; Sex Characteristics

breath test.RESULTS: In first-line treatment, eradication rate was 78.5% (106/135) and 78.6% (114/143) in the 7-day and 14-day treatment in per-protocol (PP) analysis (P = 0.805). In intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis, eradication rate was 64.0% (114/178) and 66.0% (126/191), respectively (P = 0.924). There was no significant difference in drug compliance (81.5% vs. 84.3%, P = 0.320). In second-line therapy, eradication rate was not significantly different in both treatments of PP analysis (91.7% [33/36] vs. 100% [45/45], P = 0.084). In the ITT analysis, eradication rate was 79.6% (35/44) and 90.4% (47/52), respectively (P = 0.080). Drug compliances were not significantly different between the two groups (95.5% vs. 98.1%, P = 0.728).CONCLUSION: PPI-based STT for H. pylori is not efficient as a first-line therapy both in 7 days and 14 days in Korea. Although bismuth-containing quadruple therapy for 14 days as a second line therapy tend to show higher eradication rate compared to 7-day therapy, this should be elucidated by further larger scaled studies.TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02487511]]>
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Breath Tests ; Compliance ; Drug Resistance ; Helicobacter pylori ; Helicobacter ; Humans ; Korea ; Proton Pump Inhibitors ; Proton Pumps ; Stomach Neoplasms ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVE: This work aimed to identify the risk factors of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection in preschool children and provide effective measures for the prevention and reduction of the incidence of H. pylori infections. METHODS: A total of 204 children from two kindergartens in Suzhou city were recruited through a questionnaire survey. Risk factors were selected through the single factor paired data χ² test and multiple factor Logistic regression analysis. Oral and gastric H. pylori infections were detected by using H. pylori saliva detection (HPS) and ¹³C-urea breath test (¹³C-UBT). Special toothpaste for H. pylori control was selected for oral cleaning. Oral H. pylori infection rates at 2 months after special toothpaste treatment were examined by using HPS. RESULTS: The high-risk factors of H. pylori infections among preschool children included poor personal hygiene habits, such as the nibbling of fingers and the avoidance of hand-washing before meals, diet, and parent's history of stomach disease. Among the 204 subjects enrolled in this study, 158 (77.45%), 37 (18.14%), and 28 (13.73%) were HPS positive, ¹³C-UBT positive, and HPS and ¹³C-UBT positive, respectively. The incidence of oral H. pylori infections was significantly higher than that of gastric H. pylori infections (P<0.01). The positive rate of infections significantly decreased after special toothpaste treatment (P<0.01). This result indicates that the intervention was effective. CONCLUSIONS Children must receive education on good eating habits. Individualized dining habits or the use of public chopsticks must be implemented. H. pylori infections must be detected as early as possible. Specific toothpaste for oral cleaning must be selected. These approaches could drastically prevent or reduce the incidence of H. pylori infections among preschool children.
Breath Tests ; Child, Preschool ; Helicobacter Infections ; epidemiology ; Helicobacter pylori ; Humans ; Risk Factors ; Urea

BACKGROUND/AIMS: In the ABC classification system, group A consists of seronegative subjects without gastric corpus atrophy. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and characteristics of pseudo group A subjects. METHODS: Group A subjects were identified among consecutive Korean adults who underwent a serum anti-Helicobacter pylori immunoglobulin G (IgG) test and pepsinogen (PG) assay on the day of endoscopy. Past infection was defined as the presence of either eradication history or endoscopic findings suggesting past infection (i.e., gastric xanthoma, metaplastic gastritis, or advanced atrophy >closed-type 1). RESULTS: Among 2,620 group A subjects, 448 (17.1%) had eradication history, and 133 (5.1%) showed endoscopic findings suggesting past infection. Older age (odds ratio [OR], 1.148; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.067 to 1.236) and earlier year of birth (OR, 1.086; 95% CI, 1.009 to 1.168) were independent risk factors for classification into pseudo group A, with cutoff points at 50.5 years and birth year of 1959.5, respectively. Positive H. pylori test findings were found in 22 subjects (3.1%) among the 715 subjects who underwent the urea breath test or Giemsa staining on the same day. Current infection was positively correlated with PG I and PG II levels (p<0.001) but not with age, anti-H. pylori IgG titer, or classification into pseudo group A. CONCLUSIONS: Among the group A subjects, 22.2% had past infection. The risk was higher in subjects older than 50 years, especially those born before 1960. Furthermore, current infection was found in 3.1% of the subjects and was correlated with increased gastric secretory ability.
Adult ; Atrophy ; Azure Stains ; Breath Tests ; Classification ; Endoscopy ; Gastritis ; Helicobacter pylori ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; Parturition ; Pepsinogen A ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Urea ; Xanthomatosis