Identification of Patients with Reactive Airways at Ambient Temperatures

Background: This study aimed to characterize respiratory resistance values of reactive and non-reactive airways. Being able to test for reactivity can be beneficial in the medical realm to prescreen patients for respiratory diseases. Reactive airways are airways that narrow due to an external stimulation, which cause a patient to wheeze. The symptoms vary and can be like those of asthma. They are of great interest because patients with reactive airways are exposed to a risk of long-term airway damage.

Methods: Thirty subjects were asked to breathe ambient temperature room air at 21° Celsius, while breathing through an airflow perturbation device (APD). The APD is a new instrument that rapidly and non-invasively measures respiratory resistance. Respiratory resistance values were examined among subjects at 60 second intervals for a total of 5 measurements.

Results: Of 30 subjects between ages 18 to 54 years, 9 (30%) were identified to have reactive airways with statistical significance of p ≤ 0.05.

Conclusion: Testing respiratory resistance using the APD could be a prescreening for reactive airways in exercised-induced asthma in cooler temperatures.

Keywords: Respiratory Resistance, Airways, Exercise-Induced Asthma, Asthma.