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Lung function testing in infants
1Portex Anaesthesia, Intensive Therapy & Respiratory Medicine Unit, Institute of Child Health, London, UK. j.stocks@pich.ucl.ac.uk
Insights
Pulmonary function tests for infants and young children are rapidly advancing. Careful interpretation of these tests enhances understanding of respiratory development and diseases, aiding in effective treatment strategies.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Pulmonology
- Respiratory Physiology
Background:
- Pulmonary function testing (PFT) in infants and young children has seen significant advancements.
- Early methods adapted adult techniques, but recent trends focus on developing simpler, infant-specific methods.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the development and application of PFTs in pediatric populations.
- To highlight the challenges and benefits of assessing respiratory function in early life.
Main Methods:
- Review of recent literature on infant and young child pulmonary function testing techniques.
- Discussion of physiological factors influencing PFT interpretation in this age group.
Main Results:
- Newer, less complex PFT techniques are increasingly available for infants and young children.
- Interpretation challenges include physiological factors like chest wall compliance and upper airway dominance.
- Despite challenges, PFTs offer valuable insights into respiratory system development and disease.
Conclusions:
- Careful application of PFTs in infants and young children improves understanding of respiratory growth and pathophysiology.
- Objective outcome measures from PFTs can guide the development of preventive and therapeutic strategies for early-life respiratory conditions.
Abstract:
During recent years, there has been rapid development in the availability and application of pulmonary function tests in infants and young children. Whereas original methods were based on adaptations of classical techniques, over the past decade there has been an increasing trend towards developing less complex techniques specifically for use in infants and young children. Interpretation of these measurements requires a knowledge of respiratory physiology, and may be confounded by an unstable end expiratory level, compliant chest wall, dominance of the upper airways, difficulty in achieving flow limitation in healthy infants, and the variability of respiratory, lung or airway resistance which increases the difficulty of assessing the significance of changes in resistance as a result of treatment or challenge. Nevertheless, with care, the assessment of respiratory function during infancy and early childhood can increase knowledge of the growth and development of the respiratory system, and our understanding of the patho-physiological processes underlying respiratory diseases in early life. They also have the potential to provide valuable objective outcome measures in the quest for effective preventive and therapeutic strategies in respiratory medicine.