AUTHOR=Gu Shu-Yi , Lu Hai-Wen , Bai Jiu-Wu , Yang Jia-Wei , Mao Bei , Yu Li , Xu Jin-Fu 

TITLE=The role of volatile organic compounds for assessing characteristics and severity of non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis: an observational study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Medicine

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2024.1345165

DOI=10.3389/fmed.2024.1345165

ISSN=2296-858X

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Background</title><p>Hypoxic conditions and <italic>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</italic> (<italic>P. aeruginosa</italic>) infection are significant factors influencing the prognosis and treatment of patients with bronchiectasis. This study aimed to explore the potential for breath analysis to detect hypoxic conditions and <italic>P. aeruginosa</italic> infection in bronchiectasis patients by analyzing of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath condensate (EBC).</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>EBC samples were collected from stable bronchiectasis patients and analyzed using solid phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (SPME-GCMS). The association of VOCs with bronchiectasis patients' phenotypes including hypoxic conditions and <italic>P. aeruginosa</italic> isolation was analyzed, which may relate to the severity of bronchiectasis disease.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>Levels of 10-heptadecenoic acid, heptadecanoic acid, longifolene, and decanol in the hypoxia group were higher compared to the normoxia group. Additionally, the levels of 13-octadecenoic acid, octadecenoic acid, phenol, pentadecanoic acid, and myristic acid were increased in <italic>P. aeruginosa</italic> (+) group compared to the <italic>P. aeruginosa</italic> (–) group. Subgroup analysis based on the bronchiectasis severity index (BSI)reveled that the levels of 10-heptadecenoic acid, heptadecanoic acid, decanol, 13-octadecenoic acid, myristic acid, and pentadecanoic acid were higher in the severe group compared to the moderate group. Multivariate linear regression showed that 10-heptadecenoic acid and age were independent prognostic factors for bronchiectasis patients with hypoxia. Furthermore, octadecenoic acid, phenol and gender were identified as independent prognostic factors for bronchiectasis patients with <italic>P. aeruginosa</italic> isolation.</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusion</title><p>The study provides evidence that specific VOCs in EBC are correlated with the severity of bronchiectasis, and 10-heptadecenoic acid is shown to be a predictive marker for hypoxia condition in bronchiectasis patients.</p></sec>