Compact Eucapnic Voluntary Hyperpnoea Apparatus for Exercise-Induced Respiratory Disease Detection

Lulu Wang,Ahmed Al-Jumaily

doi:10.3390/s17051139

Abstract

Eucapnic voluntary hyperpnoea (EVH) challenge provides objective criteria for exercise-induced asthma (EIA) or exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB), and it was recommended to justify the use of inhaled β2-agonists by athletes for the Olympics. This paper presents the development of a compact and easy-to-use EVH apparatus for assessing EIB in human subjects. The compact apparatus has been validated on human subjects and the results have been compared to the conventional EVH system. Twenty-two swimmers, including eleven healthy subjects and eleven subjects who had been physician-diagnosed with asthma, were recruited from sport and recreation centers throughout Auckland, New Zealand. Each subject performed two EVH challenge tests using the proposed breathing apparatus and the conventional Phillips EVH apparatus on separate days, respectively. Forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) was measured before and after the challenges. A reduction in FEV1 of 10% or more was considered positive. Of the eleven subjects who were previously diagnosed with asthma, EIB was present in all subjects (100%) in the compact EVH group, while it was presented in ten subjects (90.91%) in the conventional EVH challenge group. Of the eleven healthy subjects, EIB was present in one subject (4.55%) in the compact EVH group, while it was not present in the conventional EVH group. Experimental results showed that the compact EVH system has potential to become an alternative tool for EIB detection.

Highlights

Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) occurs during [1] or after vigorous physical activities [2], which has been reported commonly in elite athletes [3]
(100%) and exercise-induced asthma (EIA) was presented in five subjects (22.73%) in the compact Eucapnic voluntary hyperpnoea (EVH) group, while EIB was present in ten subjects (90.91%) and EIA was presented in one subject (4.55%) in the conventional EVH
Of the eleven health subjects, EIB was present in one subject (4.55%) in the compact EVH challenge group, while it was not present in the conventional EVH group, and no EIA was presented in both groups

Summary

Introduction

Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) occurs during [1] or after vigorous physical activities [2], which has been reported commonly in elite athletes [3]. In 2002 Olympic Games athletes were required to demonstrate evidence of asthma or EIB to justify the use of β2 -adrenoceptor agonist before an event [4]. A reliable test method with an apparatus is required to accurately identify. Several test methods have been studied to assist the diagnosis of asthma or EIB. Pharmacologic challenge has been shown to be suboptimal for identifying EIB [5]. Exercise challenge shows a low sensitivity in identifying EIB when performed in the laboratory in elite athletes [6]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion