Multidisciplinary consensus on sputum induction biosafety during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Crespo-Lessmann, Astrid; Plaza, Vicente; Almonacid, Carlos; Caballero Soto, María Luisa; Cañas, José Antonio; Carretero Gracia, José Ángel; Cruz, María Jesús; Dacal Rivas, David; Del Camino Muñiz, María; Pérez Del Llano, Luis; Del Pozo, Victoria; López Carrasco, Valentín; Marín Trigo, José María; Mateus, Eder; Muñoz, Xavier; Olaguíbel, José María; Quirce, Santiago; Ramos, David; Sanz Rubio, David; Sastre, Joaquín; Vázquez Martín, Silvia; Vera Solsona, Elisabet

Sputum induction (SI) is the gold standard approach to the non-invasive study of airway inflammation. The differential count of inflammatory cells for SI allows patients with asthma to be classified according to inflammatory phenotypes and predicted therapeutic responses. Since SI involves the generation of aerosols, there is a need to establish a protocol to ensure biosafety in clinical practice during the current COVID-19 pandemic. The multidisciplinary consensus on SI described in this article was developed by 22 experts in SI from different Spanish hospitals who drew on available scientific evidence in achieving consensuated opinions, compiled by means of an electronic survey. We hope that these unified criteria and recommendations will guide health professionals in implementing SI sampling and processing procedures as safely as possible during the COVID-19 pandemic.