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Pulmonary function tests in normal Indian children and changes in respiratory disorders
A Srivastava1, R K Kapoor, P K Misra
1Department of Pediatrics, King George's Medical College, Lucknow.
Insights
Pulmonary function tests (PFTs) reveal distinct patterns in pediatric respiratory disorders. Bronchial asthma shows reduced flow rates, pneumonia presents a restrictive pattern, and empyema exhibits a combined obstructive and restrictive pattern.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Pulmonology
- Respiratory Physiology
Background:
- Pulmonary function tests (PFTs) are crucial for diagnosing and monitoring pediatric respiratory conditions.
- Establishing normative PFT values in healthy children is essential for accurate interpretation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine normal pulmonary function test values in healthy children aged 8-13 years.
- To characterize the changes in PFTs associated with common pediatric respiratory disorders like bronchial asthma, pneumonia, and empyema.
Main Methods:
- A one-year study involving 95 healthy children (8-13 years) and 51 children with respiratory disorders.
- Measurement of forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), FEV1/FVC ratio, peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR), and forced expiratory flow rate between 25-75% of FVC (FEF25-75%).
- Comparison of PFT parameters between healthy controls and patient groups, matched for age, sex, and height.
Main Results:
- Children with bronchial asthma exhibited reduced FEV1/FVC%, PEFR, and FEF25-75%, correlating with disease severity.
- Pneumonia cases showed a restrictive pattern with decreased FVC and FEV1, and minimal changes in PEFR and FEF25-75%.
- Empyema patients displayed a combined pattern of significantly reduced FVC and FEV1, with mildly decreased FEV1/FVC%, PEFR, and FEF25-75%.
Conclusions:
- PFTs demonstrate distinct patterns in pediatric bronchial asthma, pneumonia, and empyema.
- These findings aid in differentiating respiratory conditions and assessing disease severity in children.
- Normative PFT data is vital for accurate diagnosis and management of pediatric lung diseases.
Abstract:
To document the normal values of pulmonary function tests in children and changes occurring in their values with various respiratory disorders, a study was carried over a period of one year in 95 healthy controls (39 females and 56 males) of 8-13 years of age and 51 cases with respiratory disorders (bronchial asthma-31, pneumonia-10, empyema-10) of matched age, sex and height distribution. The lung functions studied were FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC, PEFR and FEF25-75%. In children with bronchial asthma, the FEV1/FVC%, PEFR and FEF25-75% were reduced in accordance with the severity of the disease. A typical restrictive pattern of equivalent decrease in FVC and FEV1 along with insignificant lowering of flow rates, i.e., PEFR and FEF25-75% was observed in pneumonia whereas in patients of empyema a combined pattern of significantly decreased FVC and FEV1 along with mildly reduced FEV1/FVC%, PEFR and FEF 25 75% was observed.