An alternative method to measure the diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide in infants.
Journal:
Pediatric pulmonology
PMID:
29265767
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Lung diffusion assessed by the uptake of carbon monoxide (DL ) and alveolar volume (V ) by inert gas dilution are readily assessed in cooperative older subjects; however, obtaining these measurements in infants has been much more difficult. Our laboratory has measured DL and V in sleeping infants using a mass spectrometer, which continuously measures gas concentrations, and demonstrated that infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) have lower DL , but no difference in V compared to full-term controls. The mass spectrometer is expensive and lacks portability; therefore, we evaluated whether measurement of end-expiratory alveolar gas concentrations using a gas chromatograph would provide an alternative approach.