title: Does bronchodilator responsiveness in infants with bronchiolitis depend on age?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the relation between age and bronchodilator responsiveness in infants with bronchiolitis.
  
  
  METHODS
  In 41 infants (age, 2 to 18 months) with bronchiolitis, lung function was measured with the raised volume rapid thoracoabdominal compression technique before and after salbutamol inhalation. Lung function was quantified in terms of timed volumes (FEV(0.5), FEV(0.75), and FEV(1.0)). A significant change was defined as a postbronchodilator value that differed from baseline by more than twice the within-subject coefficient of variation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  For the group, postbronchodilator values did not differ significantly from baseline (DeltaFEV(0.5), 3.8% +/- 9.3%; DeltaFEV(0.75), 3.5% +/- 9.5%; and DeltaFEV(1.0), 4.0 +/- 9.8%). Eleven subjects showed significantly increased timed volumes; 3 presented with a decreased lung function; the remaining patients failed to show a significant change. The mean age of subjects with improved lung function did not differ significantly from the mean age of those with no or paradoxical responses (9.7 +/- 4.7 vs 8.1 +/- 4.1 months); there was no correlation of age with the size of the bronchodilator response.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of the current study indicate that bronchodilator responsiveness in infants with bronchiolitis is not age-dependent.
authors.affiliation: Respiratory and Allergic Disease Division, Paediatric Department, Medical University of Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Manfred
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Modl
authors.forename: Ernst
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Eber
authors.forename: Doris
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Malle-Scheid
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Weinhandl
authors.forename: Maximilian S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Zach
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000420:Albuterol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001990:Bronchiolitis, Viral / Q000188:drug therapy*; D001993:Bronchodilator Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D005541:Forced Expiratory Volume; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D012123:Pulmonary Ventilation / Q000187:drug effects*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D018357:Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D001993:Bronchodilator Agents; D000420:Albuterol