High-frequency respiratory input impedance measurements in infants assessed by the high speed interrupter technique

High-frequency input impedance (Z(f)) measurements, including antiresonances, provide useful noninvasive information on airway geometry and especially airway wall mechanics in the canine and human adult respiratory system. A knowledge of airway wall mechanics would be particularly important in understanding flow limitation phenomena in infants. High-frequency Z(f) has not been measured in infants above 256 Hz, because the high impedance of the infantile respiratory system would be expected to result in low amplitudes of oscillatory flow at higher frequencies. The aim of this study was to develop a technique to measure high-frequency Z(f) in infants and to elucidate the nature of the antiresonance phenomena in the Z(f) spectrum in infants. Z(f) was measured from 32-900 Hz during rapid airflow interruption by the high-speed interrupter technique (HIT) in 18 infants (aged 24-149 weeks) with wheezing disorders. The HIT enables the excitement of higher flow amplitudes at high frequencies using a pseudostep forcing function. In all infants Z(f) showed a mean (SD) first antiresonance (far,1) of 172 (35) Hz (real part of Z(f) at far,1 (Z(f)re(far,1)): 4.9 (1.1) kPa x L(-1) x s) and in five infants a second antiresonance (far,2) of 564 (51) Hz (Z(f)re(far,2): 2.0 (0.7) kPa x L(-1) x s). The antiresonances were found to be related to wave propagation in the airways (acoustic antiresonances), because they increased by a factor of approximately 2 when He-O2 was inhaled. This implies that far,1 and its harmonics are a function of airway wall compliance. In conclusion, the first and second antiresonances may be helpful in understanding flow limitation in wheezing disorders in infants, because flow limitation is related not only to airway diameter but also to airway wall compliance.