Objective: To assess the variations of end-expiratory volume of chest wall (EEVcw) measured by optoelectronic plethysmography (OEP) as a diagnostic tool in exercise-induced asthma (EIA) among asthmatic preschool children.
Methods: Forty children diagnosed with asthma were included in the study. Spirometry was used as a gold standard test for comparison with OEP. A 10% decline in forced expiratory volume in 1 second was considered positive for EIA. OEP was performed with 8 cameras at a frequency of 60 Hz and 89 markers were placed on the thoraco-abdominal surface of participants. Following bronchoprovocation testing on a treadmill, series of OEP and spirometry were conducted between 5 and 30 minutes after exercise. To obtain the ideal cut-off point, a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was constructed for the largest EEVcw. The highest Youden index was used as criteria to obtain the cut-off point with the best sensitivity and specificity.
Results: Of the 40 children studied, 16 had EIA. According to the ROC curve, the cut-off point of 0.185% for EEWcw provided mean sensitivity (95% confidence interval) of 93.75% (0.69-0.99), for a specificity of 83.33% (0.63-0.95), when using the largest increase in the period of 5-30 minutes post-exercise. The low area of the ROC was 0.93 (0.85-1.00) for p < 0.001.
Conclusion: OEP can be accurately used to replace spirometry in asthmatic children unable to adequately execute the required manoeuvres.
Keywords: Diagnostic techniques; computer-assisted; respiratory; respiratory mechanics and image processing; respiratory system; sensitivity and specificity; signs and symptoms.