Because of the minimal demand for cooperation by the subject, the forced oscillation technique is increasingly employed in routine lung function testing. However, comprehensive and deviceindependent values of respiratory impedance at baseline and after bronchodilation have not been established for healthy adults.The aim of this multicentre study was to collect impedance data from 4 to 26 Hz in healthy Caucasian subjects between 18 and 80 years of age. Five different devices were employed to assess baseline values and the bronchodilator response.Altogether, 368 subjects were examined. Despite adjustment for anthropometry, the impedance spectra differed in frequency dependence between the centres, and hence could not be pooled. However, resistance at all frequencies except 20 and 25 Hz, and the low-frequency (f14 Hz) values of reactance did not exhibit a centre dependence. The regression equations for resistance reflected a greater height dependence in males and a greater weight dependence in both males and females than those published previously. Bronchodilation resulted in a statistically significant decrease (11%) in resistance and a 95th percentile equal to a 32% decrease in resistance at low frequency.We conclude that rigorous calibration procedures should be developed to ensure data compatibility. Furthermore, new reference equations based on different setups are recommended to replace those established with a single device. @ERSpublications New prediction equations for respiratory impedance in adults have been developed based on multiple devices

This study indicates that airway responsiveness can be present early in life and suggests that a family history of asthma or parental smoking contributes to elevated levels of airway responsiveness at an early age.

The relationship between reduced pulmonary function in early life and persistent wheeze (PW) in school-aged children remains uncertain. In this study, VmaxFRC was assessed at 1 month of age, and the presence of wheeze up to 11 years of age was prospectively identified. At 11 years of age, airway responsiveness (AR) to inhaled histamine and atopy were assessed. Recent wheeze at 11 years of age was associated with a reduced mean z score for VmaxFRC at 1 month of age (-0.41 [SD 0.91], n = 31) compared with no recent wheeze (0.04 [SD 1.00], n = 153, p = 0.03). Wheeze between 4 and 6 years that persisted at 11 years (PW) was most prevalent among those with reduced VmaxFRC at 1 month and atopy aged 11 years (p = 0.002) or reduced VmaxFRC and increased AR aged 11 years (p = 0.015). When all factors were considered, reduced VmaxFRC at 1 month (p = 0.03) and increased AR aged 11 years (p < 0.001) were independently associated with PW (n = 17) compared with other outcomes (n = 129). Reduced airway function present in early infancy is associated with PW at 11 years of age, and this relationship is independent of the effect of increased AR and atopy in childhood.

Acute viral respiratory illness during infancy has been implicated as a precursor for subsequent lower respiratory morbidity in childhood. A prospective, longitudinal study of respiratory function, airway responsiveness, and lower respiratory illness during early childhood was performed in a cohort of 253 healthy infants to characterise those who experienced bronchiolitis. Seventeen infants (7% of the cohort), were given a diagnosis of bronchiolitis during the first two years of life with two (1%) requiring hospital admission. Seventy one per cent of those infants with bronchiolitis had a family history of atopy, 53% of asthma, and 29% had a mother who smoked cigarettes. These family history characteristics in this group with bronchiolitis were not different from the rest of the cohort. There were also no differences in the number of older siblings, the number breast fed, the duration of breast feeding, or socioeconomic status of the families between those that did and did not get bronchiolitis. Respiratory function was assessed at 1, 6, and 12 months of age. Maximum flow at functional residual capacity (VmaxFRC) was measured using the rapid thoracic compression technique. Resistance (Rrs) and size corrected compliance (Crslkg) were obtained from a single brief occlusion at end inspiration. Airway responsiveness was assessed by histamine inhalation challenge and the provocation concentration of histamine resulting in a 40% fall on VmaFRC from baseline (PC40) was determined. Respiratory measurements were ranked into terciles to assess the distribution of infants who developed bronchiolitis through the cohort. At the age of 5 weeks, a significant trend was observed for infants who subsequently developed bronchiolitis during the first year oflife to have baseline Vmax,FRC values in the lowest tercile (odds ratio 3-16, 95% confidence interval 087 to 11-6). Rrs, Crs/kg, and PC40 were not different at any age between the bronchiolitics and the cohort. Cough and wheeze were noted to be frequent before the episode of bronchiolitis. This study has demonstrated that infants who develop bronchiolitis have evidence of pre-existing reduced respiratory function and lower respiratory symptoms. It is proposed that bronchiolitis, although potentially contributory, is not usually causative of subsequent lower respiratory morbidity. (Arch Dis Child 1995; 72: 16-24)