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Breathing patterns during sleep in stable asthmatic children
1First Department of Pediatrics, Dokkyo University School of Medicine, Tochigi, Japan.
Insights
Stable asthmatic children exhibit altered breathing patterns during sleep. Nocturnal sleep studies revealed significant changes in expiratory time (TE) and the TE/inspiratory time ratio (TE/TI) in asthmatic children compared to controls.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Pulmonology
- Sleep Medicine
- Respiratory Physiology
Background:
- Asthma is a chronic respiratory condition affecting children, with potential impacts on sleep quality.
- Breathing pattern abnormalities during sleep may be an indicator of underlying respiratory dysfunction in asthmatic children.
- Nocturnal breathing patterns in asymptomatic asthmatic children require further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate and compare nocturnal breathing patterns in asymptomatic asthmatic children and nonasthmatic controls.
- To identify specific breathing indices that differentiate asthmatic children during sleep.
- To assess the stability of breathing patterns throughout the night in both groups.
Main Methods:
- Utilized impedance pneumography to monitor breathing patterns in 15 asymptomatic asthmatic children and 11 nonasthmatic controls.
- Measured inspiratory time (TI), expiratory time (TE), and the expiratory time/inspiratory time ratio (TE/TI) as key indices.
- Compared breathing pattern data obtained during daytime and nocturnal sleep.
Main Results:
- No significant differences in TI, TE, or TE/TI were observed between asthmatics and controls during daytime.
- During nocturnal sleep, asthmatic children showed a significant increase in TE and TE/TI compared to their daytime values.
- Controls exhibited minimal overnight variation in these breathing parameters, unlike the asthmatic group.
Conclusions:
- Asymptomatic asthmatic children demonstrate abnormal breathing patterns specifically during nocturnal sleep.
- Changes in expiratory time and the TE/TI ratio during sleep are indicative of altered respiratory mechanics in stable childhood asthma.
- These findings suggest that sleep monitoring may reveal subclinical respiratory abnormalities in pediatric asthma.
Abstract:
Breathing patterns during sleep at night were studied in 15 asymptomatic asthmatic children and 11 nonasthmatic controls using impedance pneumography. Inspiratory time (TI), expiratory time (TE) and expiratory time/inspiratory time ratio (TE/TI) were used as the indices of breathing patterns. In the daytime, TI, TE and TE/TI, showed no significant differences between asthmatics and controls. During nocturnal sleep, TE and TE/TI increased significantly in the asthmatics compared with the value during daytime, while these values showed only a small variation overnight in the controls. TI showed no significant changes through the night in either the asthmatics and the controls. The results of this study indicate that the stable asthmatic children had abnormal breathing patterns during nocturnal sleep.