INTRODUCTION: In asthma, lung function measures are often discordant with clinical features such as disease activity or control. METHODS: We investigated a novel technique that provides a measure (σCL) of unevenness (inhomogeneity) in lung inflation/deflation. In particular, we compared σCL with FEV1% predicted (FEV1%pred) as measures of disease activity in the asthmatic lung. RESULTS: σCL correlated modestly with FEV1%pred. However, σCL is not simply a proxy for FEV1%pred as the effects of salbutamol on the two parameters were unrelated. Importantly, σCL reflected disease control better than FEV1. DISCUSSION: We conclude that σCL shows promise as an objective measure of disease activity in asthma.
Journal article
BMJ Open Respir Res
03/2020
7
asthma, Adult, Aged, Albuterol, Asthma, Bronchodilator Agents, Case-Control Studies, Female, Forced Expiratory Volume, Humans, Lung, Male, Middle Aged, Pulmonary Gas Exchange, Severity of Illness Index, Spirometry