| Title: | A study to assess the impact of airway virus on asthma control in non-exacerbating patients |
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| Author(s): | L Walsh A Sullivan J MacSharry D Murphy |
| Institution: | Cork University Hospital |
| Poster: | Click to view poster |
| Category: | COPD/Asthma |
| Abstract: | Changes to the composition of the pulmonary microbiome e.g., through viral infection have the potential to impact asthma severity. However, little is known about the lung virome and the role viruses play in non-exacerbating asthmatics. We aim to assess if viral colonisation in non-exacerbating asthmatics influenced their asthma control as measured by the Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ-7) score and if viral colonisation differed by severity of disease as per GINA classification. Patients were recruited from the asthma clinic in Cork University Hospital. A bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) was carried out and viral analysis was conducted. We also measured a cell differential and cytokine levels in the samples. 46 samples were obtained of which 10.8% were virus positive. Most patients in this study were classed as severe asthmatics. There was a higher mean ACQ-7 and lower FEV1 in the virus positive group. Oral steroid use was significantly higher in those with severe asthma who were virus positive. Our results suggests that in non-exacerbating asthmatics, viral colonisation results in poorer asthma control, a significantly higher dose of oral steroids and lower FEV1. Elevated airway levels of several cytokines were also observed in the airways of patients who were virus positive. |
