Validity of methods used to test airway responsiveness in children

• Published in: The Lancet (British edition) Vol. 339; no. 8804; pp. 1282 - 1284
• Main Author: Le Souef, Peter N
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Elsevier Ltd 23.05.1992; Lancet; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Adolescent; Aerosols; Aging - physiology; Asthma - physiopathology; Biological and medical sciences; Body size; Body Weight; Bronchial Hyperreactivity - chemically induced; Bronchial Hyperreactivity - physiopathology; Child; Child, Preschool; Children & youth; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma; Drugs; Humans; Infant; Lungs; Medical research; Medical sciences; Methacholine Chloride - administration & dosage; Physiology; Pneumology; Respiratory System - drug effects; Respiratory System - physiopathology; Human; Performance evaluation; Allergy; Histamine; Respiratory disease; Aerosols; Diagnosis; Technique; Child; Comparative study; Asthma
• ISSN: 0140-6736; 1474-547X
• DOI: 10.1016/0140-6736(92)91602-5

Methods to test airway responsiveness to inhaled agonists in children were originally developed for use in adults, and agonist dosage regimens do not adequately correct for the size of the child. Because small children receive a higher dose relative to their body size than do large children, the age-related decline in airway responsiveness reported in many recent studies might reflect failure to adequately size-correct test dosages rather than a genuine physiological event. Until the administered doses of inhaled agonists can be satisfactorily size-corrected, tests of airway responsiveness in children should be regarded as qualitative rather than quantitative.