Table 1.
List of Clinical Monitoring techniques
| Procedure | Advantages | Potential limitations |
|---|---|---|
| STANDARD TESTING | ||
| Pulmonary functional testing | • Non-invasive | • Sensitivity |
| • Cost | • Indirect measurements of inflammation | |
| • Standardized procedure | ||
| • Availability | ||
| • Longitudinal assessment possible | ||
| Blood biomarkers | • Non-invasive | • Correlation with lung inflammation unknown |
| • Cost | ||
| • Availability | ||
| • Longitudinal assessment possible | ||
| • Cellular/biochemical readouts of inflammation | ||
| ADDITIONAL TESTS1 | ||
| Exhaled gases and breath condensates | • Non-invasive | • Correlation with inflammation not clear |
| • Cost | ||
| • Availability | • Predicted value references not available | |
| • Standardized procedure | ||
| • Longitudinal assessment possible | • High variability | |
| Sputum induction | • Non-invasive | • Sample yield |
| • Cost | • Reproducibility | |
| • Longitudinal assessment possible | • Correlation with tissue unknown | |
| • Cellular/biochemical readouts of inflammation | ||
| Imaging modalities | • Correlation with tissue changes | • Availability |
| • Cost | ||
| • Sensitivity | ||
| • Safety/ethical concerns | ||
| Bronchoalveolar lavage | • Standardized procedure | • Moderately invasive |
| • Cost | • Correlation with tissue unknown | |
| • Reproducible | • Nature of cell infiltrate may vary between diseases | |
| • Longitudinal assessment possible | ||
| • Cellular/biochemical readouts of inflammation | ||
| Endo- and trans-bronchial biopsies | • Standardized procedure | • Invasive |
| • Tissue/cellular/biochemical readouts of inflammation | • Focal analysis/sampling error | |
1
The tests in this category are reviewed from less invasive methods to more invasive procedures.