A team of researchers is using Induced Sputum (IS), a new technique, to assess the effect of pollution on urban asthmatic children.
For the firefighters and rescue workers conducting the rescue and cleanup operations at Ground Zero from September 2001 to May 2002, exposure to hazardous airborne particles led to a disturbing “WTC cough”—obstructed airways and inflammatory bronchial hyperactivity—and acute inflammation of the lungs. At the time, bronchoscopy, the insertion of a fiber optic bronchoscope into the lung, was the only way to obtain lung samples. But this method is highly invasive and impractical for screening large populations.
