Sputum eosinophilia

What it means

An increased proportion of eosinophils in sputum in the differentiated cell count.

Sputum eosinophilia can be measured in various ways including measuring the mean percentage of eosinophils in the cell count of sputum induced by application of saline. The threshold chosen differs between studies, typically ranging from 1.25 to 3 percent. Increased sputum eosinophil counts may indicate a risk for severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or severe asthma.

Rare diseases that can present with this1

The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.

Part of the broader category