BACKGROUND AND AIM: Asthma is a chronic inflammatory airway disorder. Pentraxin 3 (PTX3) is a novel inflammatory indicator that plays a significant role in natural immunity. In our study, we aimed to identify the PTX3 levels and its relationship with disease severity in patients with asthma.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-two stable asthma patients with no comorbidity who had been previously diagnosed with asthma and were admitted to the outpatient clinic of chest diseases between December 2018 and June 2019 were included in the study together with 35 control subjects. The demographic data and the results of pulmonary function tests including the parameters of forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), and FEV1/FVC of all cases were recorded. The serum PTX3 levels were measured by the ELISA method. The patients with asthma were classified into three groups as mild, moderate, and severe, according to the Global Initiative for Asthma.
RESULTS: Asthma and control groups were similar regarding age, gender, and body mass index. The FEV1 and FEV1/FVC values of the asthma group were lower compared to the controls. The PTX3 levels were significantly higher in the patient group with asthma compared to the control group (P < 0.001). The patients with mild, moderate, and severe asthma were similar regarding the PTX3 levels (P = 0.551). No correlation was found to be present between the PTX levels and the pulmonary function test parameters.
CONCLUSION: PTX3 is an indicator that has the capability of showing airway inflammation. However, it is inadequate to determine the severity of asthma.