Grant: Master's Award - Primary Care

Airway inflammation is a key component of both asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, assessment of airway inflammation is not a prerequisite for the diagnosis of either and is therefore not routinely performed. The widespread application of induced sputum in a variety of airway diseases has defined new disease phenotypes linking airway function and airway inflammation, as well as indicating which phenotypes respond best to therapy. Sputum induction has also been used specifically to guide the clinical management of patients. Although the training and equipment required to process samples is minimal, no laboratories outside of southern Ontario currently exist. Therefore the option to monitor airway inflammation using this technique is prohibitive to the majority of Canadians, but particularly to those living in northern and rural communities. This study will assess the physician perceived clinical utility of sputum cell counts in managing patients with Asthma and COPD. Results from the sputum analysis will be given to the patient's primary care physicians to assist them in better managing their patients. In addition, we aim to test a new fixation method in a clinical setting by providing these same physicians cell counts from samples fixed in alcohol to compare with standard method cell counts.