Agnaldo José Lopes

Forced Oscillation Technique in the Detection of Smoking-Induced Respiratory Changes

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major public health problem with high and increasing prevalence (Gold 2011). According to WHO estimates, 80 million people have moderate to severe COPD (WHO, 2012). There is general agreement in the literature that it is necessary to develop new accurate and noninvasive tests of lung function (Enright and Crapo, 2000; Kaminsky and Irvin, 2001; Polkey et al.., 2004). In the particular case of COPD, the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute recently recommended that research on new technologies to improve the non-invasive testing of lung function in this disease should be a priority (Croxton et al., 2002).

Avaliação do Desempenho da Técnica de Oscilações Forçadas na Identificação Precoce das Alterações Respiratórias em Crianças Asmáticas

This work investigates the potential of the Forced Oscillation Technique (FOT) in the analysis of the respiratory mechanics in asthmatic children. The results obtained in 30 asthmatic children classified as normal to the spirometric exam and 27 asthmatics with mild obstruction were compared with 14 controls. The parameters obtained by FOT described an increase in respiratory system resistance (p<0.0003), as well as reductions in homogeneity (p<0.001) and dynamic compliance (p<0.002). These results were coherent with the physiological process under study. ROC analyses confirmed the clinical usefulness of FOT parameters and confirmed the high potencial of this technique in the proposed application.

Imagem anular em tomografia computadorizada do tórax de alta resolução

* Trabalho realizado no Hospital Universitario Pedro Ernesto.1. Medico do Servico de Pneumologia e Mestre em Pneumologia pelaUniversidade Federal Fluminense.2. Professor Assistente do Servico de Pneumologia do Hospital Uni-versitario Pedro Ernesto e Radiologista do Hospital Geral de Bonsu-cesso.3. Medica Estagiaria do Servico de Pneumologia.4. Professor Titular e Chefe do Servico de Pneumologia.