Clinical applications of breath testing

Abstract

Breath testing has the potential to benefit the medical field as a cost-effective, non-invasive diagnostic tool for diseases of the lung and beyond. With growing evidence of clinical worth, standardization of methods, and new sensor and detection technologies the stage is set for breath testing to gain considerable attention and wider application in upcoming years.

Analysis of breath volatile organic compounds as a noninvasive tool to diagnose nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in children

“…Breath testing is becoming an increasingly important noninvasive diagnostic method that can be used in the evaluation of health and disease states in the gastrointestinal tract and beyond [6,7]. Breath testing is a simple and safe alternative to more invasive investigations in children.…”

“…Breath testing is a simple and safe alternative to more invasive investigations in children. More recent technological advancements in breath testing and analysis through gas and liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry have made it possible to identify thousands of substances in the breath that correlate with different disease states [7]. The aims of the current study were to assess (a) the feasibility of breath testing using selective ion flow tube mass spectrometry (SIFT-MS) in obese children and (b) the ability to identify volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that correlate with the presence of NAFLD in these children.…”

Cardiovascular Biomarkers in Exhaled Breath

“…With recent advances in technology, essentially anything in the blood that is potentially volatile or has a volatile metabolite can be measured in exhaled breath 71 . This includes substances we produce endogenously as part of our normal (or disease-related) metabolism whether this is local in the lung or systemic in origin 3, 18, 72–73 . Since we are constantly inhaling air from our environment as we breathe in the ambient air, exhaled breath can also reflect our environmental exposure(s) 74 .…”

“…Since we are constantly inhaling air from our environment as we breathe in the ambient air, exhaled breath can also reflect our environmental exposure(s) 74 . Furthermore, our breath contains volatile compounds produced by our “internal environment”: the bacteria in our gut and mouth 72 . Add to all of those volatile byproducts generated from our diet, medications, drugs, or toxins that we are exposed to and you get a very rich matrix that has great potential to revolutionize and personalize medicine 75 .…”

Portable Breath Monitoring: A New Frontier in Personalized Health Care

“…Other VOCs are indicative of human presence and metabolism 9 and must be accounted for in evaluation of a breath signature. Table I provides a very small listing of the vast range of exhaled breath species, and their potentially associated health conditions 3,5,10 including species that are both exhaled in the breath and also present in the environment, e.g., carbon monoxide.…”