TY - JOUR T1 - Forced expiratory flows’ contribution to lung function interpretation in schoolchildren JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J SP - 107 LP - 115 DO - 10.1183/09031936.00062814 VL - 45 IS - 1 AU - Bernard Boutin AU - Marc Koskas AU - Houda Guillo AU - Lucia Maingot AU - Marie-Claude La Rocca AU - Michèle Boulé AU - Jocelyne Just AU - Isabelle Momas AU - Alberti Corinne AU - Nicole Beydon Y1 - 2015/01/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/45/1/107.abstract N2 - Forced expiratory flow (FEF) at low lung volumes are supposed to be better at detecting lung-function impairment in asthmatic children than a forced volume. The aim of this study was to examine whether FEF results could modify the interpretation of baseline and post-bronchodilator spirometry in asthmatic schoolchildren in whom forced expiratory volumes are within the normal range. Spirometry, with post-bronchodilator vital capacity within 10% of that of baseline in healthy and asthmatic children, was recorded prospectively. We defined abnormal baseline values expressed as z-scores <-1.645, forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) reversibility as a baseline increase >12%, FEF reversibility as an increase larger than the 2.5th percentile of post-bronchodilator changes in healthy children. Among 66 healthy and 50 asthmatic schoolchildren, only two (1.7%) children with normal vital capacity and no airways obstruction had abnormal baseline forced expiratory flow at 25–75% of forced vital capacity (FEF25–75%). After bronchodilation, among the 45 asthmatic children without FEV1 reversibility, 5 (11.1%) had an FEF25–75% increase that exceeded the reference interval. Isolated abnormal baseline values or significant post-bronchodilator changes in FEF are rare situations in asthmatic schoolchildren with good spirometry quality. Forced expiratory flows don’t add useful information over forced expiratory volumes and their ratio in schoolchildren http://ow.ly/zo5MA ER -