Lung function in adolescents after uncomplicated whooping cough in childhood.

Ventilatory function (forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in one second, forced expiratory flows), static lung volumes, phase III slope and closing volume (single-breath nitrogen washout test) were measured in 499 children and adolescents aged 10-16 yrs from a general population sample in North-East France. A history of whooping cough was given by 44 children (22 of each sex); their results were compared to those of the 455 children (215 girls) with a negative history. The only difference between the two groups was a minimal increase in the residual volume/total lung capacity ratio in cases (19.2 +/- 3.1 vs 18.0 +/- 2.9%). We conclude that uncomplicated whooping cough in early childhood did not lead to significant pulmonary function abnormality in this population of children born after 1967.