PITTSBURGH, Penn. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- It's one of the leading
causes of hospitalization for children. One in 10 kids suffers from
asthma, yet doctors may sometimes have a difficult time getting an
accurate diagnosis in very young patients.
Three-year old Naomi Shaviss landed in the hospital after her wheezing
wouldn’t go away. Her father was worried.
"Oh no. Are we about to have another episode? Is this bad?" Robert
Shaviss says.
Robert says doctors began treating Naomi for asthma last year, but for
some toddlers, a diagnosis is more difficult. With older children,
doctors can use a test called spirometry to measure lung function that’s
nearly impossible for toddlers.
"We have to get children to fill their lungs completely up and blast it
out very hard and fast. Most littler kids can’t do that on their own,"
says Daniel Weiner, M.D., a pediatric pulmonologist at Children’s
Hospital of Pittsburgh of University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
That’s when doctors may use a special device to help them. During an
infant lung function test, the child is sedated and placed in a special
Plexiglas bed wearing a face mask. An inflatable bag is placed over the
baby’s chest and a vest over that. Doctors fill the baby’s lungs, then
quickly inflate the bag so the vest gives the child a squeeze, helping
him forcefully exhale.
This technology is already used to test for chronic lung diseases like
cystic fibrosis. Now, some are beginning to test kids they suspect have
asthma, but aren’t responding to treatment.
"Ten or 15 years ago people would say this is purely a research test and
one should never take the risk of sedating a child to measure their lung
function. But I think we’re finding that there are many reasons where
it’s important to know their lung function," Dr. Weiner says.
"You need to know what’s going on because if you don’t, asthma can be
life-threatening," Robert says. Unless it’s diagnosed-and kept under
control.
The infant lung testing usually takes under two hours to complete.
Patients go home the same day. By the age of five or six, doctors can
successfully use spirometry to test patients.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh
Patient Information Line
(412) 692-7337
