Alblooshi Afaf, Alkalbani Alia, Albadi Ghaya, Narchi Hassib, Hall Graham
Department of Pediatrics, United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates.
Department of Pediatrics, Tawam Hospital, Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates.
World J Methodol. 2017 Dec 26;7(4):129-138. doi: 10.5662/wjm.v7.i4.129.
Respiratory diseases, especially asthma, are common in children. While spirometry contributes to asthma diagnosis and management in older children, it has a limited role in younger children whom are often unable to perform forced expiratory manoeuvre. The development of novel diagnostic methods which require minimal effort, such as forced oscillation technique (FOT) is, therefore, a welcome and promising addition. FOT involves applying external, small amplitude oscillations to the respiratory system during tidal breathing. Therefore, it requires minimal effort and cooperation. The FOT has the potential to facilitate asthma diagnosis and management in pre-school children by faciliting the objective measurement of baseline lung function and airway reactivity in children unable to successfully perform spirometry. Traditionally the use of FOT was limited to specialised centres. However, the availability of commercial equipment resulted in its use both in research and in clinical practice. In this article, we review the available literature on the use of FOT in childhood asthma. The technical aspects of FOT are described followed by a discussion of its practical aspects in the clinical field including the measurement of baseline lung function and associated reference ranges, bronchodilator responsiveness and bronchial hyper-responsiveness. We also highlight the difficulties and limitations that might be encountered and future research directions.
呼吸系统疾病，尤其是哮喘，在儿童中很常见。虽然肺功能测定有助于大龄儿童的哮喘诊断和管理，但在年幼儿童中作用有限，因为他们往往无法完成用力呼气动作。因此，开发诸如强迫振荡技术（FOT）等所需努力最小的新型诊断方法是一项值得欢迎且很有前景的补充。FOT包括在潮气呼吸期间对呼吸系统施加外部小幅度振荡。因此，它所需的努力和配合最少。FOT有潜力通过客观测量无法成功完成肺功能测定的儿童的基线肺功能和气道反应性，来促进学龄前儿童的哮喘诊断和管理。传统上，FOT的使用仅限于专业中心。然而，商业设备的出现使其在研究和临床实践中都得到了应用。在本文中，我们综述了有关FOT在儿童哮喘中应用的现有文献。先描述了FOT的技术方面，接着讨论了其在临床领域的实际应用，包括基线肺功能的测量及相关参考范围、支气管扩张剂反应性和支气管高反应性。我们还强调了可能遇到的困难和局限性以及未来的研究方向。
