Extract
We agree with the challenges discussed by A-C. Kentgens and co-workers for the adoption of fixed breathing protocols outside the adult range assessed in our study, but we want to clarify that we were not recommending imposing 1 L breathing outside the age range studied [1]. The main intention of our research letter was to illustrate the impact of different breathing protocols on variability of multiple breath washout (MBW) outcomes by choosing a cohort where both protocols were readily feasible. By expressing the tidal volume (VT) dependence that we observed in adults in terms of mL·kg−1, we then aimed to make observations about whether the pronounced variability shown with tidal breathing may affect existing paediatric data. Consistent with a concurrent publication by Handley et al.
Abstract
Adult studies point to two sources of lung clearance index variability that could be explored to improve LCI sensitivity https://bit.ly/36oRJ1I
Footnotes
Author contributions: S. Verbanck, D. Schuermans, M. Paiva, P.D. Robinson and E. Vanderhelst co-wrote the manuscript.
Conflicts of interest: S. Verbanck has nothing to disclose.
Conflicts of interest: D. Schuermans has nothing to disclose.
Conflicts of interest: M. Paiva has nothing to disclose.
Conflicts of interest: P.D. Robinson has nothing to disclose.
Conflicts of interest: E. Vanderhelst has nothing to disclose.
Support statement: This project was supported by the Fund for Scientific Research-Flanders (FWO-Vlaanderen, Belgium).
- Received January 21, 2021.
- Accepted January 24, 2021.
- Copyright ©The authors 2021. For reproduction rights and permissions contact permissions{at}ersnet.org