• Ephraim Bar-Yishay, Elena Matyashchuk, Huda Mussaffi, Meir Mei-Zahav, Dario Prais, Shai Hananya, Guy Steuer, and Hannah Blau.
• Cykiert Pulmonary Function Laboratory, Pediatric Pulmonary Institute, Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel, Petah Tikva, Israel. ephraimb@clalit.org.il
• Isr Med Assoc J. 2009 Apr 1; 11 (4): 198-200.

BackgroundThe forced oscillation technique is a noninvasive and effort-independent technique that is well suited for lung function measurement in young children. FOT employs small-amplitude pressure oscillations superimposed on normal breathing. Therefore, it has the advantage over conventional lung function techniques in that it does not require patient cooperation for conducting respiratory maneuvers.ObjectivesTo test the feasibility of the FOT test in preschool children and to compare the results to the commonly used spirometry before and after the administration of bronchodilator therapy.MethodsForty-six children (median age 4.9 years, range 1.8-18.3) attending the pulmonary clinic at Schneider Children's Medical Center tried to perform FOT and routine spirometry. Results were retrospectively analyzed.ResultsOf the 46 children 40 succeeded in performing FOT and only 29 succeeded in performing simple spirometry. All but one of the 32 children aged 4 years and above (97%) could perform both tests. Nine of 14 children (64%) aged 4 and less could perform the FOT but only 3 (21%) could perform spirometry. Baseline values of respiratory resistance measured at 6 Hz (R6) negatively correlated with body length (r2 = 0.68, P < 0.005). Twenty-four children performed both tests before and after bronchodilator therapy. A significant concordance was found between the measured responses to bronchodilators by FOT and spirometry (P < 0.01). Only one child had a negative response by FOT but a positive response by spirometry.ConclusionsThe FOT is a simple, non-invasive technique that does not require subject cooperation and thus can be utilized for measuring lung function in children as young as 2 years old. Furthermore, the FOT was shown to reliably measure response to bronchodilator therapy.

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