Objective To determine the diagnostic value of fractional exhaled nitric (FeNO) measurement in diagnosis of bronchial asthma. Methods The patients with unkown-cause respiratory symptoms including wheezing, cough, and breathlessness were enrolled from August to September in 2008. FeNO was measured by nitric oxide analyzer (NIOX; Aerocrine AB; Solna, Sweden). Bronchial challenge test (BCT) or bronchodilator test was defined as golden standard for asthma diagnosis. The value of FeNO was assessed and the optimal operating point of FeNO testing was determined by the means of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Results A total of 101 patients were enrolled, in which 48 cases were diagnosed as asthma by positive yield in BCT (in 38 cases) or bronchodilator test (in 10 cases). The severity of airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) judged by BCT was mild in 15 cases, moderate in 15 cases and severe in 8 cases. The levels of FeNO of asthma group were higher than those of non-asthma group [(68.19±43.00) pph vs (19.52±10.60) ppb, P < 0.05]. A linear correlation of FeNO with lnPD20 FEV1 was revealed in the cases with AHR. Area under ROC curve was 0.9. The optimal diagnostic cutoff point was 36.5 ppb which was capable of differentiating asthma and non-asthma with sensitivity of 92.7%, specificity of 83.3%, positive predictive value of 79.17% , negative predictive value of 94.34% and accuracy of 87.13%. Conclusion FeNO test may be helpful in the diagnosis of asthma with high sensitivity and specificity.

Objective To compare the impact of propofol and sevoflurane on thermoregulation in children undergoing orheopaedic surgery.Methods Sixty-eight children scheduled to undergo ortho-paedic surgery were randomly allocated to receive propofol (group P)and sevoflurane(group S)anes-thesia,34 cases in each group.Tympanic temperature was recorded 5 minutes before (T0 )and 5 min (T1 ),1 5 min (T2 ),30 min (T3 ),45 min (T4 ),60 min (T5 ),75 min (T6 ),90 min (T7 ),105 min (T8 )and 120 min (T9 )after anesthesia.Total fluid intake,duration of surgery,duration of anesthe-sia,the incidence of hypothermia,and the incidence of shivering were also recorded.Results Com-pared with T0 ,in both groups body temperature declined at T1-T8 .There was no difference between the two groups in total fluid intake,duration of surgery,duration of anesthesia and the incidence of shivering.Compared with group P,children in group S had a higher incidence of hypothermia(8 vs 1). Children in group S had lower temperature,which had statistical significance at T7 and T8 (P <0.05). Conclusion The core temperature of children undergoing orthopaedic surgery showed a trend of in-crease after the first fall in the surgery.Compared with propofol,sevoflurane anesthesia is more likely to lead to the incidence of hypothermia in children undergoing orthopaedic surgery in 90 min after in-duction of anesthesia.