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Reference values of interrupter respiratory resistance in healthy preschool white children
E Lombardi1, P D Sly, G Concutelli
1Paediatric Allergy and Pulmonology Centre, "Anna Meyer" Children's Hospital, Department of Paediatrics, University of Florence, 50132 Florence, Italy. e.lombardi@meyer.it
Insights
This study establishes reference values for interrupter respiratory resistance (Rint) in healthy preschool children, aiding lung function assessment. The findings confirm Rint
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Pulmonology
- Respiratory Physiology
- Lung Function Testing
Background:
- Interrupter respiratory resistance (Rint) is valuable for assessing lung function in young children who struggle with cooperation.
- A lack of established reference values for Rint in healthy preschool children using the standard interrupter method limits its clinical application.
Purpose of the Study:
- To establish reference values for interrupter respiratory resistance (Rint) in a large cohort of healthy preschool children.
- To evaluate the influence of upper airway compliance and repeatability on Rint measurements in this age group.
Main Methods:
- Rint measurements were conducted in 284 healthy preschool children (ages 3.0-6.4 years) without cheek support.
- Rint was assessed with and without cheek support in a subset of children to evaluate upper airway compliance effects.
- Short-term and long-term repeatability of Rint measurements were assessed in children with respiratory symptoms.
Main Results:
- No significant gender differences were observed in mean inspiratory (RintI) and expiratory (RintE) Rint.
- Age, height, and weight were significantly correlated with RintI, while height was independently correlated with RintE.
- Cheek support did not significantly impact RintI or RintE measurements; good short-term and long-term repeatability was demonstrated.
Conclusions:
- Reference values for Rint in white preschool children have been established.
- The interrupter technique is a useful method for assessing lung function in preschool-aged children.
Background:
Interrupter respiratory resistance (Rint) is reported to be useful in evaluating lung function in poorly collaborating patients. However, no reference values are available from large samples of preschool children using the standard interrupter method. The aim of this study was to define reference Rint values in a population of healthy preschool children.
Methods:
Rint was assessed without supporting the cheeks in children with no history of wheeze from six kindergartens. To evaluate the effects of upper airway compliance on Rint in healthy children, an additional group of preschool children with either no history of wheeze or no respiratory symptoms at the time of testing underwent Rint measurements in our lung function laboratory with and without supporting the cheeks. Short term (about 1 minute apart) and long term (mean 2.5 months apart) repeatability of Rint measurements (2 SDs of the mean paired difference between measurements) was also assessed in children referred for cough or wheeze.
Results:
A total of 284 healthy white children (age range 3.0-6.4 years) were evaluated. Mean inspiratory and expiratory Rint (RintI and RintE) did not differ significantly in boys and girls. Age, height, and weight showed a significant inverse correlation with both RintI and RintE in the univariate analysis with linear regression. Multiple regression with age, height, and weight as the independent variables showed that all three variables were significantly and independently correlated with RintI, whereas only height was significantly and independently correlated with RintE. Supporting the cheeks had no significant effect on RintI (n=29, median 0.673 v 0.660 kPa/l.s, p=0.098) or RintE (n=39, median 0.702 v 0.713 kPa/l.s, p=0.126). Short term repeatability was 0.202 kPa/l.s for RintI (n=50) and 0.242 kPa/l.s for RintE (n=69). Long term repeatability was 0.208 kPa/l.s for RintE (n=26).
Conclusions:
We have reported reference Rint values in preschool white children and have demonstrated the usefulness of this technique in assessing lung function in this age group.