Novità in diagnostica funzionale respiratoria pediatrica

Pulmonary function tests are considered indispensable for the diagnosis and monitoring of respiratory diseases in childhood. Many techniques are available, but the most widely used is certainly spirometry, which takes only a few minutes to characterize the type and severity of ventilatory defect in collaborative children (> 6 years). Furthermore, with the increasing availability of cheap and portable spirometers, the test can be done in the family pediatrician’s office. Since 2012, new normal reference values have been issued, permitting more correct measurements and standardized ways of reporting the results throughout the world. Unfortunately spirometry usually cannot be done for noncollaborating children who, until some years ago, could only be assessed through physical examination. However, techniques not requiring the active collaboration of the child are now available. In particular, these tests provide a measure of the airways resistance. Finally, portable analyzers for the measurement of exhaled nitric oxide have become more common: nitric oxide is quite a reliable indicator of bronchial eosinophilic inflammation, useful for the diagnosis and management of bronchial asthma.