Discriminative Capacity of Impulse Oscillometry in Diagnosis and Treatment of Asthmatic Children

Abstract

As one of the most common chronic respiratory conditions, asthma affects millions of Americans (especially children). Asthma is currently clinically detected by a pulmonary function test known as Spirometry. This requires extreme breathing maneuvers. However, recent research by our group and others alike, have reported success when using the child-friendly Impulse Oscillometry System (IOS) to correctly diagnose patients with airway impairments. Previous research in our group has tested different IOS parameters to determine those that accurately diagnose a subject with airway impairment. This data has shown that IOS parameters AX (the "Goldman Triangle") and the extended Resistor-Inductor-Capacitor (eRIC) model-derived parameter Cp (representing small airway compliance), are the most reliable parameters for tracking lung function. To confirm these predictions, we compute the ROC curves to analyze the IOS parameter AX of 112 Anglo and Hispanic pre-bronchodilated children to determine the systems' sensitivity and specificity in correctly diagnosing children with asthma. In conclusion, the area under curve (AUC) value for AX was 0.655, which is analogous to similar research and the sensitivity and specificity cutoff points are 71% and 50%, respectfully. This working progress suggests that IOS should be considered for integration in clinical settings for diagnosis and treatment of children with asthma.