Exhaled leukotriene B4 in children with community acquired pneumonia.

Background: The infiltrate in pneumonia is characterized by a large number of activated neutrophils, for which leukotriene B4 (LTB4) is a strong chemotactic agent. Exhaled breath condensate (EBC) is a non-invasive technique for studying the lower airways. The present study was conducted to measure EBC LTB4 as a potential non-invasive marker of inflammatory response in community acquired pneumonia (CAP).