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Asthma and wheezing symptoms are extremely common problems in young children. The diagnosis and monitoring of airway disease involving wheeze in young children relies mainly on the history provided by the parents of the children and clinical observations, because children under 6 years of age can rarely perform the manoeuvres needed for lung function measurements, such as forced expiration, which require active co-operation. A number of techniques applicable to lung function measurement in young children (e.g. respiratory resistance by the forced oscillation technique and by the interrupter technique) have been introduced already several decades ago. But only recent advances in pressure transducer and microcomputer technology, and because these techniques require passive co-operation only and measurements can be performed in unsedated children down to the age of 2 years, these methods have become more widely used in 1990s and have reached finally also Estonia. It has been stated that current priorities are to widen educational material available on these modern techniques and better international standardisation. As these measurements are already possible at the University of Tartu, it is essential for us to assess their potential for future clinical applications. The aim of the project is to assess the applicability of resistance measurements in preschool children; to collect data on the intraindividual measurement repeatability of IOS and interrupter technique; to determine reference limits of respiratory system resistance using these 2 techniques for healthy children aged 3-7 years; to present reference limits for bronchodilator responses for healthy children;and to evaluate the reliability of techniques for assessing changes in lung function in asthmatic children. |