Children's Hospital and Research Institute, Marien-Hospital Wesel gGmbH, Pastor-Janssen-Str. 8-38, 46483 Wesel, Germany.
Paediatr Respir Rev. 2011 Dec;12(4):264-70. doi: 10.1016/j.prrv.2011.05.001. Epub 2011 Sep 23.
Multiple breath washout (MBW) has been demonstrated to be sensitive for assessing ventilation inhomogeneity (VI). VI is supposed to reflect changes in peripheral airways which are not apparent using spirometry. The lung clearance index (LCI) is the most robust parameter to quantify VI, and is largely independent of age; therefore, it potentially qualifies as a surrogate outcome parameter for clinical and research purposes, particularly during childhood. This review summarizes the current evidence regarding the clinical value of measuring LCI in children. Feasibility, reproducibility and diagnostic accuracy have been demonstrated; available data confirm that LCI is superior to spirometry in detecting small air way disease. However, there is little information regarding the value in the individual patient, and sparse longitudinal data looking at its prognostic value. Currently, only in patients with Cystic Fibrosis, it appears likely that knowledge of LCI will be useful for routine clinical management.
多次呼吸冲洗（MBW）已被证明对评估通气不均一性（VI）敏感。VI 被认为反映了周围气道的变化，而这些变化在使用肺活量计测量时并不明显。肺清除指数（LCI）是量化 VI 的最可靠参数，并且在很大程度上独立于年龄；因此，它有可能成为临床和研究目的的替代结果参数，特别是在儿童时期。本综述总结了目前关于测量儿童 LCI 的临床价值的证据。已经证明了可行性、可重复性和诊断准确性；现有数据证实，LCI 在检测小气道疾病方面优于肺活量计。然而，关于个体患者的价值的信息很少，并且关于其预后价值的纵向数据也很少。目前，只有在囊性纤维化患者中，LCI 的知识似乎可能对常规临床管理有用。
