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How to interpret spirometry in a child with suspected asthma
  1. Anthony Brown1,
  2. Benjamin McNaughten2,
  3. Catherine Russell3,
  4. Patricia Watters4,
  5. Dara O'Donoghue2,5
  1. 1 General Paediatrics, Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children, Belfast, UK
  2. 2 Paediatric Respiratory Medicine, Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children, Belfast, UK
  3. 3 Paediatric Respiratory Department, Royal Belfast Children's Hospital, Belfast, UK
  4. 4 Paediatric Respiratory Department, Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children, Belfast, UK
  5. 5 Department of Child Health, Centre for Medical Education, Queens University Belfast, Belfast, UK
  1. Correspondence to Dr Anthony Brown, General Paediatrics, Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children, Belfast, UK; brown.anthony{at}doctors.org.uk

Abstract

Asthma is one of the most common chronic disorders of childhood. The typical symptoms are a result of reversible airway obstruction. There is no ‘gold-standard’ test to diagnose asthma, but the most commonly used investigation to help with a diagnosis is spirometry. This article outlines some of the technical aspects of spirometry together with how the forced expiration manoeuver and bronchodilator responsiveness testing can be performed and interpreted in a child with suspected asthma.

  • Respiratory Medicine
  • Paediatrics
  • Adolescent Health
  • Child Health

Data availability statement

No data are available.

https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2022-324308

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    Data availability statement

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    Footnotes

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.