Asthma control in children: Body plethysmography in addition to spirometry

Abstract

Background There is a lack of agreement among measures of asthma control in children. In Central Europe, body plethysmography is additionally used for asthma monitoring. However, its value is still unclear. Objectives We investigated the possible additional value of body plethysmographic measures (specific resistance, residual volume‐total lung capacity ratio [RV/TLC]) compared with spirometric measures forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV 1), forced vital capacity (FVC), FEV 1/FVC, forced expiratory flow at 25% to 75% of forced vital capacity (FEF 25‐75), and fraction of exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) for assessment of asthma control. Methods One hundred and forty‐five asthmatic children aged 5 to 17 were included. All children performed measurements of FeNO, spirometry, and body plethymography. Asthma control was assessed by the asthma control test (c‐ACT/ACT) and a doctor's assessment of asthma control. Results Investigating single lung function parameters, FEV1, FEV 1/FVC, FEF 25‐75 and RV/TLC differed between controlled and partly controlled asthma. However, we found no differences between controlled and uncontrolled asthma with regard to single lung function parameters or for any parameter if investigated in a multivariable approach. This was also true if we combined obtained parameters from spirometry (comparing pathologic vs normal spirometry). Investigating the combination of body plethysmography and doctor's assessment of asthma control a significant association was found ( P = 0.02). Furthermore, combined spirometry and body plethysmography showed a significant association with both doctor's assessed asthma control ( P = 0.009) and the c‐ACT/ACT ( P = 0.04). The addition of FeNO did not improve the results. Conclusions The combination of body plethysmography and spirometry shows best agreement with asthma control in children compared with spirometry or body plethysmography alone. Further studies are needed to find out whether additional measurements of body plethysmography improve the outcome of children in asthma monitoring.

Pediatric pulmonology 2019 year in review: Asthma

“…There are differing opinions on the utility of body plethysmography to monitor asthma control. Korten et al performed a cross‐sectional study to analyze whether or not there was an association between body plethysmography values and asthma control as assessed by either a physician's history or questionnaire 12 . They found that the combination of spirometry with body plethysmography had greater agreement of asthma control compared to either alone.…”

Laboratory Dynamics in Children With Mild Persistent Bronchial Asthma

“…При исследовании ФВД ОФВ 1 был снижен только у 6 (14,3%) пациентов. По данным других исследователей, показатели ФВД у детей с БА часто бывают в пределах возрастной нормы, особенно при легком или контролируемом течении [11,12].…”

Kūno pletizmografijos rodiklių pokyčiai po bronchų dilatacinio mėginio

“…Todėl gali padėti atskirti sutrikusį pasipriešinimą bei pralaidumą smulkiuosiuose kvėpavimo takuose. Taigi, remiantis atliktų tyrimų ir mūsų tyrimo duomenimis, sRaw vertingas diagnozuojant obstrukcines plaučių ligas [14][15][16][17].…”