Volumetric capnography to detect ventilation inhomogeneity in children and adolescents with controlled persistent...

To study changes in the variables of volumetric capnography in children and adolescents with asthma compared with a control group and to investigate their changes with the use of bronchodilators and bronchial provocation test with methacholine.

One hundred and three patients with controlled persistent asthma and 40 healthy volunteers participated in the study. All of them underwent volumetric capnography and spirometry. All asthmatics repeated the tests after bronchodilator use. Among 103 asthma patients, 33 underwent methacholine challenge test, and measures were recorded on three occasions: before and after methacholine and after bronchodilator use.

Compared with the control group, asthmatics had an increase in the slope of phase III normalized by tidal volume and decreases in tidal volume, forced expiratory volume in one second, forced vital capacity, rate of obstruction and forced expiratory flow between 25 to 75% of forced vital capacity. After bronchodilator use, there was an increase in spirometric variables, volume of anatomic dead space, and decrease in the slope of phase II normalized by tidal volume, but the slope of phase III normalized by tidal volume did not change. After methacholine, there was an increase in this variable, which decreased after bronchodilator use.

The increase in the slope of phase III normalized by tidal volume in asthma patients suggests that these patients have ventilation inhomogeneity in the distal air spaces, which may reflect chronic structural disorders or reversible acute changes seen on the bronchial provocation test.