Table 2.

Standard and new potential biomarkers useful for asthma diagnosis and management

Procedure/type of sample	Advantage	Disadvantage
Bronchoscopy with biopsies and BAL	Present gold standard	Invasive procedure not very applicable in real-life setting
Eosinophils in induced sputum	Specific biomarker of airway inflammation	Sample not practical to collect
Peripheral eosinophilia	Easy blood sample collection	Subestimates value
Expired FeNO	Easily measurable with available device	Interpretation of results still controversial
Serum periostin	Easy blood sample collection	Data still controversial

Abbreviations: BAL, bronchoalveolar lavage; FeNO, fractional exhaled nitric oxide.