[In chronic obstructive airway diseases there are several unsolved questions regarding the early diagnosis, monitoring treatment, simple detection of exacerbations and the questions of differential diagnosis. These problems indicate the need for the development of new diagnostic methods and their application in clinical practice. This need is further emphasized by the fact that in most chronic airway diseases, including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease inflammation has a central role in the pathomechanism and its suppression is the main aim of treatment, but so far, we do not have adequate method for the assessment of inflammation intensity in clinical practice. In recent decades non-invasive sampling techniques directly from the airways have made a progress in respiratory research and at present some of them are available for clinical use. Among these techniques sputum induction, measurement of exhaled biomarkers including exhaled nitric oxide and mediators in exhaled breath condensate samples are used increasingly. The present review summarises our current knowledge on these methods and the most important findings obtained by their applications.]

[Over the past decade, the use of noninvasive ventilation in the setting of acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has gained popularity, and is recommended by evidence-based guidelines. The evidence that it should be effective in chronic COPD is much weaker, and large, prospective, randomised, controlled studies that would also provide a guide for the selection of the best candidates, are still lacking. It has bee established, however, that home mechanical ventilation is certainly beneficial for a well-defined subgroup of patients. This includes the so called “blue bloater” patients (with hypercapnia and polyglobulia), other cases with increased hypercapnia, and patients with "overlapping" syndrome (COPD accompanied by sleep apnoe). Also, for patients with acute respiratory failure who refuse intratracheal intubation noninvasive mechanical ventilation remains the only choice. The past years have unequivocally proved the superiority of the positive pressure ventilation mode for either short term or long term use.]

[Cough by itself is not a disease but a part of a complex defense mechanism protecting from harmful materials entering the airways and cleaning the lungs and airways from potentially harmful materials. Normally, cough is accompanied by other defense mechanisms (bronchoconstriction and secretion of sputum) that increase the effectiveness of cough. Cough generally is caused by intrapulmonary disorders, but may be related to extrapulmonary lesions that are not easy to diagnose. In every case, an etiological diagnosis has to be the aim because this is the only way to proper treatment. From the abundance of reasons for cough, upper airway cough syndrome, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and gastro-esophageal reflux disease are discussed in detail.]

[Long-term oxygen therapy is the only treatment that has been shown to significantly improve life expectancy in patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exhibiting marked hypoxemia. There has been sginificant advances in the longterm oxygen therapy in the last two decades caused by the technological improvements in oxygen delivery systems as well as our better knowledge of the beneficial effects of the longterm oxygen therapy including better quality of life, exercise tolerance and pulmonary hemodynamic effects. This expansive therapy requires the documentation of chronic arterial hypoxemia by arterial blood gas analysis or pulsoximetry which should be reassesed during chronic care of these patients. Besides hypoxaemia, the consequences of tissue hypoxia induced by different problems in the oxygenation chain should also be considered. Indication of long-term oxygen therapy is optimally based on evidence and pathophysiology, thereby the undesirable placebo effect or psychological addiction to oxygen can be reduced. Late laboratory diagnostics and poor patient compliance are the main determinants of undertreatment. The real value of the long-term oxygen therapy in indications other than hypoxaemic COPD requires more controlled studies.]

[As the prevalence of pollen allergy is increasing, the incidence of oral allergy syndrome is becoming more frequent. We expect, therefore, an increasing incidence of this syndrome among in children as well. The prevalence of oral allergy syndrome among adults with birch pollen allergy is estimated to be 20-70%. The prevalence of the disease among children is currently unknown. The aims of our study were to identify the characteristics of oral allergy syndrome in children and to assess its frequency. In order to identify children with oral allergy syndrome, we have used the children’s medical history, measured total IgE and serum specific IgE levels, performed skin prick tests and food challenge tests. Among the 743 children suffering from allergic rhinitis and/or bronchial asthma we found 463 children with pollen allergy, 6 of who had oral allergy syndrome. Thus, the prevalence of oral allergy syndrome among children with pollen allergy was 1.3%.]