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Reference equations for specific airway resistance in children: the Asthma UK initiative

J Kirkby1, S Stanojevic, L Welsh

  • 1Portex Respiratory Unit, University College London, Institute of Child Health, London, UK. j.kirkby@ich.ucl.ac.uk

The European Respiratory Journal
|February 13, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Specific airway resistance (sR(aw)) can help detect childhood lung disease. This study established reference equations for children aged 3-10, highlighting the need for standardized methods for reliable clinical use.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Pulmonology
  • Respiratory Physiology

Background:

  • Specific airway resistance (sR(aw)) is valuable for diagnosing pediatric lung disease.
  • Clinical application is hindered by inconsistent equipment, methods, and reference data.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compile reference data from healthy children (3-10 years).
  • To document and assess the impact of methodological variations.
  • To develop reference equations for sR(aw).

Main Methods:

  • Data collation from five contributing centers (2,872 measurements).
  • Quality assessment of pressure-flow plots and site visit evaluations.
  • Development of quality control over-read sheets.

Main Results:

  • Methodological variations led to the exclusion of two centers.
  • Reference equations were developed for White European children (1,908 measurements) under similar conditions.
  • Recommendations for recording sR(eff) and sR(tot) were established.

Conclusions:

  • Reference sR(aw) data from a single center can be misleading due to inter-center variability.
  • Preliminary reference equations require consistent measurement conditions.
  • Standardized guidelines are crucial for future prospective data collection and clinical application of sR(aw).

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