title: Detection of small airway dysfunction in asymptomatic smokers using aerosol bolus behavior.
abstract: Tests using inhaled particles assess ventilatory nonuniformities and may be sensitive to early changes in the small airways of cigarette smokers. We measured aerosol bolus behavior in 20 asymptomatic smokers and 20 age- and sex-matched nonsmokers for comparison with pulmonary function parameters including the single-breath nitrogen test. Narrow boluses containing 1-micron particles were introduced into 1-I breaths and inhaled to varying lung depths. We examined changes in bolus shape between inhalation and exhalation using plots of aerosol concentration versus respired volume for measurement of bolus dispersion, volumetric change in mean location (mean shift), and quantitative particle deposition. We found exhaled bolus dispersion to be significantly increased in smokers compared with nonsmokers. Volumetric mean shift was significantly different in smokers at shallow lung depths, with the center of bolus mass occurring later in exhalation. FEV1/FVC in smokers was significantly inversely correlated with dispersion at deeper lung depths and with mean shift at all lung depths. Smokers with abnormal spirometry (n = 4) or an abnormal single-breath nitrogen test (n = 7) had significantly increased dispersion compared with smokers with normal pulmonary function tests. We conclude that aerosol bolus dispersion is a useful tool for examination of small airway function in asymptomatic smokers.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, John L. McClellan Veterans Administration Medical Center, Little Rock, Arkansas.
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: K G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Hardy
authors.forename: L P
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Gann
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cole
authors.forename: F C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Hiller
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000336:Aerosols; D001982:Bronchial Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D005188:False Negative Reactions; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009584:Nitrogen; D012044:Regression Analysis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D000336:Aerosols; D009584:Nitrogen