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Spirometry in 3-5-year-old children with asthma

Véronique Nève1, Jean-Louis Edmé, Patrick Devos

  • 1Pediatric Pulmonary Function Testing Unit and Research Groups of Lille 2 University and INSERM (EA2689 and IFR114), Centre Hospitalier et Universitaire de Lille et Université Lille 2, Lille, France. v-neve@chru-lille.fr

Pediatric Pulmonology
|June 17, 2006
PubMed

Insights

Spirometry using incentive games is feasible in preschool children with asthma, enabling reliable respiratory function assessment. Refined quality criteria ensure accurate results in this age group.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Pulmonology
  • Respiratory Medicine
  • Asthma Research

Background:

  • Assessing respiratory function in preschool children (PSC) with asthma is challenging.
  • Previous quality-control criteria for spirometry in children had limitations.
  • A larger dataset is needed to refine spirometry acceptability and repeatability criteria for PSC.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To refine spirometry quality-control criteria for 2-5-year-old preschool children with asthma.
  • To evaluate the feasibility of obtaining acceptable spirometry maneuvers in this population.
  • To establish optimal thresholds for spirometry acceptability and repeatability in young children with asthma.

Main Methods:

  • Spirometry with incentive games was performed on 207 preschool children with asthma.
  • Data from 178 children (86%) with at least two acceptable maneuvers were analyzed.
  • Quality-control criteria (Vbe, Vbe/FVC, time-to-PEF, DeltaFVC, DeltaFEV(1), DeltaFEV(0.5)) were evaluated and refined.

Main Results:

  • Optimal thresholds for spirometry acceptability and repeatability were determined.
  • Specific criteria were defined: Vbe ≤75 ml and ≤10% FVC, time-to-PEF <120 msec, DeltaFEV(1) & DeltaFEV(0.5) ≤110 ml and ≤10%, DeltaFVC ≤100 ml and ≤12.5%.
  • These criteria were met by a high percentage of children (85-94%), suggesting feasibility.

Conclusions:

  • A majority of preschool children with asthma can perform acceptable spirometry maneuvers.
  • The refined acceptability and repeatability criteria are applicable to preschool children.
  • Spirometry, with appropriate quality control, can be a valuable tool for assessing respiratory function in preschool children with asthma.

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