Functional residual capacity in healthy preschool children lying supine.

Functional residual capacity (FRC) was measured by the closed-circuit helium dilution method in 41 supine healthy children 1 month to 8 yr of age. In 20 children, the measurement was carried out while they were awake, and in the others, who were less cooperative, testing was done during ketamine anesthesia before elective surgery. There was no significant difference in the FRC values between these groups, and they were subsequently analyzed as a single group. For males and females separately and combined, FRC correlated significantly with height, age, and weight, both with linear and nonlinear regression analyses. No significant difference between the sexes was found. The best correlation of FRC was with height; the linear equation being FRC (ml) = -457.3 + 8.8 X height (cm) (r2 = 0.662), and the nonlinear equation being FRC (ml) = 0.0052 X [height (cm)]2.44 (r2 = 0.827).