Differential effect of cigarette smoking on hydrogen peroxide and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances exhaled in patients with community acquired pneumonia

Background. This study was designed to investigate the effect of cigarette smoking on hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and thiobarbituric reactive substances (TBARs) concentrations in exhaled breath condensate (EBC) in patients with community acquired pneumonia (CAP). Methods. H2O2 and TBARs concentrations in EBC were determined with spectrofluorimetrical assays. Results. Non-smoking CAP patients (n=24) exhaled 1.4, 1.8 and 1.7 times more H2O2 than the smoking patients with CAP (n=19) as assessed one (0.73±0.32 μM v. 0.51±0.36 μM), three (0.84±0.31 μM v. 0.47±0.24 μM) and five (0.66±0.28 μM v. 0.40±0.35 μM) days after admission (p