The diagnostic value of measuring E-CO remains controversial due to many conflicting reports (i.e. some reports indicate differences in E-CO measurements between disease activity and controls, and some reports do not). The possible explanations for these discrepancies include large differences in patient populations and in the methods used for measuring E-CO, and undefined corrections for background levels of CO. Furthermore, remarkable differences arise between studies in the magnitude of the E-CO levels in the control groups as well as in treated or untreated asthma patients. When active or passive smoking occurs, or in the presence of high background levels of CO, the measurement of E-CO is not particularly useful for monitoring airway inflammation. In patients who smoke, E-CO can be used only to confirm the smoking habit [65, 66] . Comparable to the beginning era of measurements of exhaled NO, a standardization in techniques and agreement on background correction should be reached for E-CO measurements, to allow proper conclusions to be drawn in this area of investigation.