Pulmonary function following mild respiratory tract infections ("common cold") in teenagers.
Ventilatory function--forced vital capacity (VC)--forced expiratory volume (in 1-sec forced expiratory flows) static lung volumes, closing volume, and phase III slope (single-breath N2 test) were compared in 94 children with and 436 children without a history of recent mild acute respiratory infection. Their age ranged from 10 to 16 years; subjects with symptoms on the day of the study were excluded. We found no difference in lung function between the two groups, with the exception of a slight (inconsistently significant) increase in closing volume (CV) and the CV/VC ratio. Although the influence of a persistent increase in interstitial lung pressure leading to early small airways closure cannot be ruled out, this isolated functional abnormality probably represents a spurious positive result, arising by chance when a large number of statistical tests are done.
Teculescu
D B
DB
INSERM Unité 115, Vandoeuvre/Nancy, France.
Pham
Q T
QT
Chau
N
N
Aubry
C
C
Kuntz
C
C
D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003139:Common Cold / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D012123:Pulmonary Ventilation; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D012907:Smoking; D013997:Time Factors