This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.

Total specific airway resistance helps identify asthma in children

Total specific airway resistance appeared to be a reliable tool in the evaluation of asthma in preschool-aged children, according to study results.

Children with asthma-like symptoms should be screened by total specific airway resistance rather than just analyzing histories, the researchers reported.

Joanna Jerzyńska, MD, PhD, of the department of pediatrics and allergy at Medical University of Łódź in Poland, and colleagues conducted a prospective, non-interventional study to assess the diagnostic value of the body plethysmography parameter (total specific airway resistance) in asthma diagnosis in young children.

The analysis included 885 children aged 4 to 18 years with asthma-like symptoms. Participants underwent body plethysmography and spirometry with reversibility tests.

Only 788 participants could perform spirometry and body plethysmography. The researchers diagnosed 517 of those participants with asthma. Participants received treatment for 6 months and then had their asthma either confirmed or denied.

After 6 months of treatment, patients initially diagnosed with the disease still had confirmed asthma.

Children with asthma who underwent body plethysmography had a significant change in response to bronchodilator (P = .02) but not for forced expiratory volume in 1 second (P = .21).

Body plethysmography had more sensitivity and specificity in identifying children with reversible obstruction than spirometry.

A significant correlation between body plethysmography and asthma diagnosis appeared to occur in patients aged 4 to 6 years (OR = 1.02; 95% CI, 1.01-1.03).

“It is reasonable to treat symptomatic children with a high [body plethysmography] with an obligatory assessment of efficacy,” the researchers wrote. “The present results suggest that asthma-predicting [body plethysmography], as defined in the present study, could serve as a reliable tool in the evaluation of preschool children with asthma.” – by Ryan McDonald

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.