Forced oscillations in the clinical setting in young children with neonatal lung disease.

The extent of respiratory dysfunction is not well characterised in children with neonatal chronic lung disease (nCLD) too young to perform spirometry. Forced oscillations are easily performed by healthy young children; however, they may be more difficult for those with nCLD. The present study aimed to describe the feasibility of using the forced oscillation technique in children with nCLD in a routine clinical setting and to investigate the influence of neonatal factors on subsequent lung function. Respiratory function tests were attempted in 64 patients with nCLD aged 3.2-6.6 yrs. Respiratory resistance and reactance at 6, 8 and 10 Hz were expressed as z-scores derived from a healthy reference population. The within-test variation and between-test repeatability were also assessed. Technically, satisfactory data were obtained from 77% of children. On grouped data, z-scores for all oscillatory indices were different from zero and related to hospital oxygen administration in the neonatal period. In conclusion, the forced oscillation technique was feasible in preschool children with neonatal chronic lung disease in the clinical outpatient setting. These children had lung function significantly worse than that predicted from healthy children. Respiratory function assessed using forced oscillations appeared to reflect the severity of lung disease during the neonatal period.