Feno Test

[PAP48]

Has anyone had a Feno test? Apparent an asthma test. I’d be interested to hear from anyone who’s had one. Hope everyone is keeping safe and well.

[Troilus]

Yes, I have had a feno test. It is a test that people with asthma take from time to time. It checks on how much inflammation is present, so the medics know if your meds are doing the job.It is not used as a diagnostic tool, although it might be used at the time of initial diagnosis.

The preferred diagnostic is spirometry.

If you are wondering what exactly you have to do in a feno test, on paper it is very easy.

You blow at a steady pace into a tube. In my test, there was a hot air ballon on the screen and I had to blow and keep it level until in got to the other side of the screen. I took several attempts to get it right! It was anything but level - one minute soaring up into outer space the next bumping on the ground.

[PAP48 in reply to Troilus]

Sounds fun! I'll let you know how I get on with the balloon, if it's the same one! Thank you for info, just waiting for my appointment. Keep safe.

[Troilus in reply to PAP48]

I had fun PAP. I found it hysterically funny! Don’t think the nurse thought the same.

[PAP48 in reply to Troilus]

I'll try and concentrate on getting the balloon in the right place so it's over quickly!

[LizPat30 in reply to PAP48]

Mine was a little car that you had to keep on the road! FeNO was one of the tests initially done to diagnose my asthma, I also repeated after an exacerbation that took a while to clear.

[PAP48 in reply to LizPat30]

Thanks for the info LizPat30 - sounds as if there are different objects probably depending on where you are! Be interesting to see what mine is - hopefully I'll receive an appointment this week. Keep safe.

[Hidden]

FeNO (fractional exhaled nitric oxide) is a useful test, acting as a measure of airway inflammation; in asthma it’s been found to be beneficial in confirming ‘non-typical’ asthma patients do indeed have asthma, and/or identifying patients where there’s potentially a significant allergic element to their asthma attacks, including if they specifically have eosinophilic asthma. It’s not definitive, as some types of asthma don’t result in higher NO levels, but it can be very useful diagnostically and in terms of monitoring treatment: people with high levels of NO will usually show good response to steroid based therapy. Outside of the asthma angle, though, NO levels are also useful diagnostically for patients with respiratory symptoms of uncertain origin generally, as NO is low in conditions like primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) and sometimes in cf; my daughter has cf but is a bit of a puzzle in terms of her lung presentation, so she had NO measured when we switched to a new specialist centre to see if an additional diagnosis had been missed. In patients ‘not doing what you’d expect’ with other respiratory conditions, NO levels can help determine if there’s another potential diagnosis that needs to be explored, including asthma if they turn out to be high.

[PAP48 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you Charlie_G, great information, my asthma is out of control at the moment, particularly at night and anything and everything seems to set it off. I was given breathing exercises but they made it worse! I do have bronchiectasis as well and Pseudomonas and Klebsiella at the moment which I'm sure doesn't help! On steroids at the moment which do seem to be helping and just waiting for an appointment for the FeNO test. You and your daughter keep safe.

[Patk1]

I do have asthma in long list of respiratory probs.never even heard of it

[PAP48 in reply to Patk1]

Same here Patk1 - I'd never heard of it either until consultant said he was arranging one! Just waiting for an appointment, doesn't sound too bad from the information I've been given. I always worry about tests I know nothing about! Keep safe.

[Debs_ALUK Partner British Lung Foundation]

Our sister charity Asthma UK has some information about the FeNO test on their website. I have added a link for you below.

asthma.org.uk/advice/diagno...

Take care

Debs

[PAP48 in reply to Debs_ALUK]

Thank you very much, I'll have a look now.