Forced oscillations in the clinical setting in young children with neonatal lung disease

¹ Centre for Child Health Research, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia; and Dept of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
² Centre for Child Health Research, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia; and Respiratory Medicine, Princess Margaret Hospital, Perth, Australia
³ Centre for Child Health Research, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
⁴ School of Paediatrics and Child Health, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
⁵ School of Paediatrics and Child Health, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia; and Respiratory Medicine, Princess Margaret Hospital, Perth, Australia

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: graham.hall{at}health.wa.gov.au.

	Abstract

The extent of respiratory dysfunction is not well characterized in children with neonatal chronic lung disease (nCLD) too young to perform spirometry. Forced oscillations are easily performed by healthy young children, however may be more difficult in those with nCLD. We aimed to describe the feasibility of using the forced oscillation technique in children with nCLD in a routine clinical setting and to investigate the influence of neonatal factors on subsequent lung function.

Respiratory function was attempted in 64 patients with nCLD aged 3.2-6.6 years. Respiratory resistance and reactance at 6, 8 and 10 Hz were expressed as Z scores derived from a healthy reference population. The within-test variation and between-test repeatability were also assessed.

Technically satisfactory data were obtained from 77% of children. On grouped data Z-scores for all oscillatory indices were different from zero (p<0.001) and related to hospital oxygen administration in the neonatal period (p<0.01).

The forced oscillation technique is feasible in preschool children with nCLD in the clinical outpatient setting. These children have lung function significantly worse than that predicted from healthy children. Respiratory function assessed using forced oscillations appears to reflect the severity of lung disease during the neonatal period.