More than 25 squamous epithelial cells at low power magnification exam under the microscope strongly suggest salivary contamination. Sputum samples have been used to quantify the degree of airway inflammation in human diseases such as asthma. Specifically, this work has demonstrated that a subgroup of severe asthma patients has airway inflammation that is resistant to treatment with corticosteroids.When a sputum specimen is plated out in microbiology, it is best to get the portion of the sample that almost looks like yellow pus onto the swab. If there is any blood in the sputum, this should also be on the swab. Microbiological sputum samples are used to look for infections, such as Moraxella catarrhalis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Haemophilus influenzae. Other pathogens can also be found. Purulent sputum contains pus, composed of white blood cells, cellular debris, dead tissue, serous fluid, and viscous liquid (mucus). Purulent sputum is typically yellow or green. It is seen in cases of pneumonia, bronchiectasis, lung abscess, or an advanced stage of bronchitis. Interpretation
Sputum can be (when examined by the naked eye):
Bloody (hemoptysis)
Blood-streaked sputum –an indicator of possible inflammation of the throat (larynx and/or trachea) or bronchi; lung cancer; other bleeding erosions, ulcers, or tumors of the lower airway. Pink sputum – it indicates sputum evenly mixed with blood from alveoli and/or small peripheral bronchi as is seen in potential pulmonary edema. Massive blood – an indicator of possible cavitary tuberculosis or tumor such as lung cancer, or lung abscess; bronchiectasis; lung infarction; pulmonary embolism.
The primary efficacy endpoint was the time to the onset of the first adjudicated relapse on or before study day 197 evaluated by a blinded, independent, adjudication committee, who determined whether the attack met protocol-defined criteria. The trial was conducted at 82 sites in 24 countries (including the United States) in North and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia.The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted the application for inebilizumab orphan drug designation and granted approval of Uplizna to Viela Bio. Society and culture
Legal status
In November 2021, the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) adopted a positive opinion, recommending the granting of a marketing authorization for the medicinal product Uplizna, intended for the treatment of adults with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) who are anti-aquaporin 4 immunoglobulin G (AQP4-IgG) seropositive. The applicant for this medicinal product is Viela Bio. Names
Inebilizumab is the international nonproprietary name (INN) and the United States Adopted Name (USAN). References
Further reading
Cree BA, Bennett JL, Kim HJ, Weinshenker BG, Pittock SJ, Wingerchuk DM,  et al. (October 2019). "Inebilizumab for the treatment of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (N-MOmentum): a double-blind, randomised placebo-controlled phase 2/3 trial". Lancet. 394 (10206): 1352–1363. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(19)31817-3. PMID 31495497. S2CID 201839513. External links
"Inebilizumab". Drug Information Portal. U.S. National Library of Medicine. Clinical trial number NCT02200770 for "A Double-masked, Placebo-controlled Study With Open Label Period to Evaluate MEDI-551 in Neuromyelitis Optica and Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorders" at ClinicalTrials.gov