Assessment of bronchodilator response using forced oscillation technique in paediatric asthmatic patients from Central India: A cross-sectional study
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: INTRODUCTION: Paediatric asthma diagnosis and monitoring often face challenges due to children's inability to perform effort-dependent tests like spirometry. The forced oscillation technique (FOT) offers a non-invasive, effort-independent alternative for assessing airway function. We set out to evaluate bronchodilator response (BDR) using FOT parameters in asthmatic children aged 2 to 12 years and to assess age- and gender-related differences in airway reversibility. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This cross-sectional observational study was conducted at a tertiary care center in Central India. Forty-eight paediatric asthma patients (26 aged 2 to 6 years and 22 aged 7 to 12 years) were recruited. Respiratory impedance parameters (R5, R20, R5-20, X5, X20, Ax, and Fres) were measured before and after BDR. The percentage change post-bronchodilator was calculated using the mean or median based on distribution. Data analysis was performed using Python (with Pandas, NumPy, SciPy, and matplotlib) and Jamovi (v2.3.28). RESULTS: R5-20% change demonstrated improvement, particularly in older males (mean: 81.83%, median: 93.74%). X5 and Ax also showed significant reductions. No statistically significant differences were observed between genders for R5, R20, R5-20%, X5%, and X20% change after BDR after adjusting covariate: age, weight, height, and BMI. CONCLUSIONS: In the absence of central Indian paediatric FOT values for BDR, we adopted an internal, data-driven approach to describe response values stratified by age and gender for central Indian asthmatic children. R5-20 and Ax are sensitive markers of airway reversibility and may serve as valuable tools for clinical decision-making in children.
Source: Lung India
Institution: All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Nagpur
Language: English
Subfield: Physiology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7130827245