P197 A pilot study to determine whether normative values of specialised pulmonary function tests differ in children from non-Caucasian, ethnic minority backgrounds

Abstract

Standard pulmonary function tests, like spirometry, are routinely performed in clinical care to detect and monitor the progression of lung disease. Reference ranges are used to determine what is normal for an individual, and are derived by performing these tests on healthy controls to establish normative values. For specialist pulmonary function tests such as multiple breath washout (MBW), Fractional exhaled Nitric Oxide (FeNO) and Nasal Nitric Oxide (nNO) reference ranges are limited or derived from small sample sizes. Furthermore, these values are often primarily based on Caucasian individuals with even less literature on normative values for ethnic minorities. This is now particularly relevant in the CF community, as there is growing identification of CF within ethnic minorities, which are over-represented in the group without access to CFTR modulator drugs. Therefore, there is utility in identifying if there are normative difference between Caucasian and ethnic minorities. If differences do exist, use of inappropriate ‘normal’ ranges could lead to disease being missed or overdiagnosed in these populations, contributing to health inequalities.