Copyright@ Roopa Siddaiah | Biomed J Sci & Tech Res | BJSTR. MS.ID.004198. 19126 Research Article ISSN: 2574 -1241 Safety and Yield of Exhaled Breath Condensate Analysis in Acutely Ill, Mechanically Ventilated Infants with RSV Bronchiolitis Roopa Siddaiah*, Diane Kitch, Michael Davies, Harish Rao, Binu Sankoorikal, Pritish Mondal, E Scott Halstead, Gavin Graff and Zissis C Chroneos Department of Pediatrics, Penn State Health Milton S Hershey Medical Center, USA *Corresponding author: Roopa Siddaiah, Assistant Professor, The Pennsylvania State University, College of Medicine, 500 University Drive, H085, Hershey, USA DOI: 10.26717/BJSTR.2020.25.004198 Received: January 25, 2020 Published: February 06, 2020 Citation: Roopa Siddaiah, Diane Kitch, Michael Davies, Harish Rao, Binu Sankoorikal, Pritish Mondal, E Scott Halstead, Gavin Graf, Zissis C Chroneos. Safety and Yield of Exhaled Breath Condensate Analysis in Acutely Ill, Mechanically Ventilated Infants with RSV Bronchiolitis. Biomed J Sci & Tech Res 25(3)-2020. BJSTR. MS.ID.004198. ARTICLE INFO Abstract Exhaled breath condensate (EBC) analysis is a rapidly growing field of research and may be a useful non-invasive technique to evaluate lung pathology. There is little information in the literature on the safety of collecting these samples in acutely ill infants needing mechanical ventilation. Viral bronchiolitis is a common lower respiratory tract infection contributing to the majority of hospitalizations in children under 2 years of age. The pathophysiology of severe bronchiolitis resulting in ventilatory support is ill- defined. Our study objective was to evaluate the tolerability of collection and utility of exhaled breath condensate (EBC) in molecular evaluation of viral bronchiolitis. We obtained proteomic profile of sequential EBCs over three days of illness from two infants who were intubated and ventilated. Mass spectrometry analysis of these samples identified cytokeratin at all time-points and time-dependent increase of proteins related to intracellular adhesions, epidermal morphogenesis, cell repair and differentiation that may be used to monitor the status of epithelial barrier function and integrity of intercellular communication in the bronchiolitis lung in the future. Our pilot study highlights that EBC collection is a well- tolerated procedure to obtain meaningful longitudinal data to profile and study the molecular parameters in acutely ill bronchiolitis infants. Abbreviations: EBC: Exhaled breath condensate; RSV: Respiratory syncytial virus; IRB: Institutional Review Board, AZGP1: Zinc Alpha 2 Glycoprotein; CASP14: Caspase 14; DCD: Dermcidin; ANXAA1: Annexins A1; ANXAA2: Annexins A2, C1orf68: Chromosome 1 Open Reading Frame 68 Protein of Unknown Function; CSTB: Cystatin B; DSC1: Desmocollin-1; DSG1: Desmoglein-1; FLG2: Filaggrin 2; GAPDH: Glyceraldehyde 3-Phosphate Dehydrogenase; JUP: Junction Plakoglobin, TGM3: Transglutaminase 3; UBA52: Ubiquitin-60s Ribosomal Protein L40 ARTICLE INFO Introduction Exhaled breath condensate (EBC) analysis is a rapidly growing field of research and may be a useful non-invasive technique to evaluate lung pathology. Several studies have used EBCs to detect inflammatory proteins and biomarkers in various lung pathologies including asthma, cystic fibrosis and Obstructive sleep apnea [1-3]. While this has been established as a promising tool in older children who are awake and can follow instructions to provide exhaled breath condensate, research is limited except for one study [4] that applied this technique to younger infants and those who are mechanically ventilated. In the present study, we report that EBC can be used to capture relevant molecular data representing the course of severe RSV bronchiolitis in hospitalized infants. Bronchiolitis is the most common cause of lower respiratory tract infection during the first year of life, and accounts for the majority of hospital admissions [5- 7]. It is characterized by acute inflammation, edema and necrosis