ILAS PG Conference | Page 15

Amnah Alrumuh Institute for Science and Technology in Medicine Determining the clinical usefulness of MBW methods to study lung function in children The problem of the respiratory system in older age often starts as early as birth and progress throughout the lifetime. The ability to measure respiratory function in the very young remains difficult. The multiple-breath inert gas washout (MBW) has been found a valid and feasible method as a lung function test for among childhood period. It can measure ventilation inhomogeneity and detect the defect in small airways at early stages. Lung clearance index (LCI) is the outcome that measured by the MBW. It reflects the number of lung volume turnovers required to washout a tracer gas. Although MBW has been used for 60 years, normative data for children and factors that affect these values need to be studied in detail. The aim of this study is to investigate the factors that may affect LCI in children and to find normative values of LCI for children ages 4-11year old. A sample of 200 healthy subjects aged 4-11 years recruited to perform multiple breath inert gas washout. The two-phase technique starts with wash in the inert gas (SF6) until it reaches particular concentration 4%. The washout phase begins to clear the inert gas out of the lung by breathing room air and ends when SF6 is 1/40th of starting the level. All subjects should answer a questionnaire about some risk factors that may influence lung function. The mean and the standard deviation of the LCI values will be calculated. The correlation between risk factors and LCI values will be evaluated. The reference values for LCI for children aged 4-11 years and the most affecting factor will be attained. Postgraduate Conference 2016 Page 14