RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Repeatability and bronchodilator reversibility of lung function in young children
JF European Respiratory Journal
JO Eur Respir J
FD European Respiratory Society
SP erj00760-2012
DO 10.1183/09031936.00076012
A1 Samatha Sonnappa
A1 Cristina M Bastardo
A1 Angie Wade
A1 Andrew Bush
A1 Janet Stocks
A1 Paul Aurora
YR 2012
UL http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/early/2012/12/06/09031936.00076012.abstract
AB Knowledge of short and longer-term repeatability of lung function in health and disease is essential to determine bronchodilator reversibility (BDR) thresholds and to recognise if changes in lung function represent disease progression, therapeutic intervention or normal variability.Multiple-breath washout (MBW) indices (lung clearance index [LCI], conductive ventilation inhomogeneity [Scond]) and specific airways resistance (sRaw) were measured in healthy children and stable wheezers. Measurements were performed at baseline and after 20 minutes without intervention to assess repeatability and determine BDR thresholds. BDR was assessed by repeating baseline measurements 20 minutes after inhaled salbutamol.Twenty-eight healthy controls, mean age 6.1 (SD 0.7)y and 62 wheezers 5.4 (0.6)y were tested. Baseline variability in MBW indices and sRaw was not significantly different between wheezers and healthy controls. Significant BDR was only observed in wheezers for Scond (16%); but in both wheezers (37%) and healthy controls (20%) for sRaw. Some wheezers and healthy controls demonstrated increases in MBW indices post-bronchodilator.LCI and sRaw demonstrate low baseline variability in health and disease. Neither MBW indices nor sRaw are ideal for assessing BDR in young children with stable wheeze. These findings will help interpret effect of therapeutic interventions in children with respiratory diseases.