Breathprinting of liver diseases

Breath analysis is a non-invasive diagnostic procedure that allows the identification of different diseases from volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These are detected by the electronic nose (e-nose), through an array of gas sensors, whose output consists of a breath fingerprint (breathprint (BP)). The present study aims at determining whether this type of analysis is able to discriminate liver cirrhosis (LC), chronic hepatitis (CH) and to identify the LC stage. This study also aims at analyzing the discriminative and classificatory properties of the e-nose in patients with chronic liver disease (CLD) and at discriminating the different classes of Child-Pugh (CPC) among LC patients. The BIONOTE is the e-nose used is this study, and the exhaled breath collection is performed via Pneumopipe. The results obtained show that this system could be a non-invasive tool for early diagnosis valid for the characterization of liver disease and for the monitoring of liver function through a qualitative analysis of breathprint. Refining stage-specific BP and considering the impact of comorbidities, such as renal failure, in a larger population, might further improve the measure chain classificatory effectiveness.