Creola bodies

Creola bodies are a histopathologic finding indicative of asthma. Found in a patient's sputum, they are ciliated columnar cells sloughed from the bronchial mucosa of a patient with asthma. Other common findings in the sputum of asthma patients include Charcot-Leyden crystals, Curschmann's Spirals, and eosinophils (and excessive amounts of sputum).

In a study by Yoshihara et al.^[1] 60% of pediatric asthmatic patients demonstrating acute symptoms were found to have creola bodies in their sputum (CB+). These patients had increased levels of neutrophil-mediated cytokine activity concluding that "epithelial damage is associated with a locally enhanced chemotactic signal for and activity of neutrophils, but not eosinophils, during acute exacerbations of paediatric asthma."

References

1. ^ Yoshihara, S., et al. "Association of epithelial damage and signs of neutrophil mobilization in the airways during acute exacerbations of paediatric asthma". Clin Exp Immunol. 2006 May; 144(2): 212–216.