3 The organism has enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant systems to neutralize the harmful effects of the endogenous ROS products. Under certain conditions, the oxidative and anti-oxidative balance shifts towards the oxidative status, leading to a condition Tenofovir chemical structure termed oxidative

stress. Increased oxidative stress has been shown to contribute in the pathogenesis of many conditions, including acute and chronic airway diseases.4 and 5 Measurement of individual oxidant and antioxidant molecules have been used by researchers in several diseases including respiratory tract infections, but this requires a complex and costly procedure. Total oxidative status (TOS) and total antioxidative capacity (TAC) have more value than assessment of one part of these systems, and have shown good correlation with other oxidant stress markers.6 and 7 The present study aimed to define the oxidative and antioxidative status of children with acute bronchitis by measuring plasma TAC, TOS, and oxidative stress index (OSI). The study population comprised 31 children aged between 3 months and 2 years diagnosed with acute bronchiolitis at the pediatric emergency department of the Bezmialem Vakıf University between January and April of 2012. Acute bronchiolitis was learn more defined as first episode of acute wheezing or rhonchi, tachypnoea, and chest retraction, preceded by or associated with cough, coryza,

rhinorrhoea, and axillary temperature > 37.5 °C.8 Patients were excluded from the study if they had an underlying disease that might affect the cardiopulmonary status (e.g. bronchopulmonary

dysplasia, prematurity, assisted ventilation during the neonatal period, congenital heart disease, or immunodefficiency); asthma diagnosed by a physician; wheezing or cough previously treated with bronchodilators or corticosteroids within the preceding two weeks; or recurrent wheezing or history of chronic lung disease. A clinical illness grading scale for acute bronchiolitis patients was used to establish the severity of infection (scores 0 to 12 calculated according to general appearance, wheezing, retraction, ifenprodil and respiratory rate).9 13 (42%) patients were classified as mild, and 18 (58%) patients were classified as moderately severe. Oxygen saturation of patients was also assessed by pulse oximetry at the time of admission. The control group included 39 age-matched healthy children recruited during routine follow-up at pediatric outpatient clinics who had no signs of septicemia, pulmonary, metabolic, rheumatologic, or autoimmune diseases. The study was approved by local ethics committee (December 13, 2011, No. 5,172). Serum samples collected from patients and control group were immediately separated from the cells by centrifugation at 3,000 g for 10 min, and then stored at −80 °C until further analysis of TOS, TAC, and OSI.