This study was done to compare the efficacy of a recently developed eosinophil-derived neurotoxin (EDN) ELISA kit (“BioTracer™ K® EDN ELISA Kit”) to a commercially available EDN ELISA kit (“MBL EDN ELISA Kit”) and demonstrate the usefulness of serum EDN measurement in young asthmatic children.

Forty-eight children with physician-diagnosed asthma (Asthma group) and 31 age-matched normal controls (Control group) were recruited from the Asthma and Allergy Center at Inje University Sanggye Paik Hospital, Seoul, Korea from January 2010 to September of 2012. EDN levels in each serum specimen were measured 2 times using the: 1) BioTracer™ K® EDN ELISA Kit and 2) MBL EDN ELISA Kit at the Inje University Sanggye Paik Hospital laboratory. EDN level measurements in each serum specimen were compared.

EDN measurements from the BioTracer™ K® EDN ELISA Kit correlated well with those from the MBL EDN ELISA Kit: r = 0.9472 at the Inje University Sanggye Paik Hospital laboratory. These r values were considered both clinically relevant (i.e., r > 0.85) and statistically significant (p < 0.0001). EDN measurements from both kits positively correlated with asthma symptom severity (p < 0.0001). No serious adverse events occurred during the study.

The BioTracer™ K® EDN ELISA Kit was accurate and useful in measuring EDN levels in young asthma patient serum. Because of our kit’s distinct advantages and utility, we suggest this kit can be used for the timely diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of asthma in asthma patients of all ages, especially those too young to perform pulmonary function tests.