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[Pulse oxymetry in the diagnosis of asthma in children]
Fabiola Reséndiz Gómez1, Javier Gómez Vera, Modesto Orea Solano
1Hospital Regional Lic. Adolfo López Mateos, ISSSTE, México, DF. fabiola2102@msn.com
Insights
Pediatric asthma patients showed decreased oxygen saturation during a cold water challenge test. Pulse oximetry is valuable for assessing asthma severity in children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Pulmonology
- Respiratory Physiology
- Diagnostic Tools in Asthma
Context:
- Asthma diagnosis in children requires early intervention to prevent airway remodeling.
- Distinguishing asthma in young children can be challenging.
- Objective diagnostic methods are crucial for pediatric asthma management.
Purpose:
- To evaluate the utility of transcutaneous oxygen tension measurement during a distilled water challenge test in pediatric asthma patients.
- To assess changes in oxygen saturation and heart rate following a cold water challenge in asthmatic children compared to healthy controls.
Summary:
- A study involving 30 children (15 with asthma, 15 controls) utilized a cold distilled water challenge test.
- Oxygen saturation significantly decreased in the asthma group post-challenge (p=0.00224).
- Heart rate showed a significant increase at 30 minutes post-challenge in asthmatic children (p=0.0127).
Impact:
- Pulse oximetry, a non-invasive tool, demonstrates significant value in identifying asthma-related physiological changes in children.
- The findings suggest that oxygen saturation monitoring during challenge tests can be related to asthma severity.
- This supports the use of objective measurements for earlier and more accurate pediatric asthma diagnosis.
Background:
Asthma is a chronic disease that requires an early diagnosis to avoid the phase of remodelation.
Objective:
To evaluate transcutaneus tension of oxygen in challenge test with distilled water in pediatric patients with asthma.
Material And Methods:
Thirty patients of 1-5 years old were included: 15 with asthma and 15 control healthy subjects. Inclusion criteria were: clinical diagnosis of asthma (cough, respiratory difficulty and wheezes more than three times in the previous year), without using steroids four weeks before the study, or bronchodilators. Exclusion criteria were: respiratory infection and severe disease. A challenge test with cold distilled water was applied and O2 saturation and basal and 5, 10, 15, 20 and 30 minutes heart frequency were measured.
Results:
O2 saturation statistically significant decreased from the basal to 5, 10, 15, 20 and 30 minutes; for cases: 96.4 and controls: 97.8, p = 0.00224. Heart frequency did not have a statistic change at basal, 5, 19, 15 and 20 minutes; but it had a statistically significant change at 30 minutes post-challenge (120.7 beats/min in cases vs 112.7 beats/min in controls, p = 0.0127).
Conclusions:
Pulse oxymetry has a significant value and is related to severity of illness.
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