EDITORIAL

Interrupter technique

Measurement of lung function in preschool children using the interrupter technique

P D Sly¹, E Lombardi²

¹ TVW Telethon Institute for Child Health Research and Centre for Child Health Research, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
² Paediatric Allergy and Pulmonology Centre, "Anna Meyer" Children’s Hospital, Department of Paediatrics, University of Florence, 50132 Florence, Italy

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Professor P D Sly, TVW Telethon Institute for Child Health Research and Centre for Child Health Research, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia;
peters@ichr.uwa.edu.au

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The measurement of airway resistance using the interrupter technique shows considerable promise for assessing lung function in children of preschool age. However, proper attention must be paid to the assumptions that underlie the technique, and appropriate consideration of the effect of the measurement conditions on these assumptions is important for producing reliable data.

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Keywords: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; nutrition; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; peripheral muscle force; interrupter technique; interrupter resistance; variability; children

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Measurement of lung function forms an important part of the clinical assessment and management of older children and adults with lung diseases. Our knowledge about the normal pattern of growth and development of the lungs and the effects of aging comes largely from measuring pulmonary function. While these measurements form a routine part of the life of most clinicians, there has been an age limit below which such information has not been available. Measurement of lung function in preschool children has recently generated much interest with the publication of a number of studies reporting the use of various techniques.^1–6 Lung function can be difficult to measure in preschool children and is prone to an increased failure rate¹ and increased variability. Two recent papers published in Thorax^5,6 describing measurements of airway resistance using the interrupter technique (Rint) deal with the important issue of repeatability of the measurement and variability . . . [Full text of this article]

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This article has been cited by other articles:

• Li, A. M., Lam, H. S., So, H. K., Leung, M., Tsen, T., Au, C. T., Chang, A. B. (2009). Interrupter Respiratory Resistance in Healthy Chinese Preschool Children. Chest 136: 554-560 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Dundas, I, McKenzie, S A, Lombardi, E, Sly, P D (2004). Interrupter resistance. Thorax 59: 449-450 [Full Text]  

eLetters:

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Is the measurement of lung function using the interrupter technique useful for the clinician?

Isobel Dundas, et al.

Thorax Online, 30 Sep 2003 [Full text]

Authors' reply

Enrico Lombardi, et al.

Thorax Online, 18 Nov 2003 [Full text]