The effect of 100% oxygen on tidal breathing parameters in preschool children

Does 100% oxygen change the way children breathe?

The multiple breath washout lung function test relies on normal breathing of 100% oxygen to measure if gas exchange occurring in the lungs is normal. It is known that breathing 100% oxygen changes the way babies breath, but this does not occur in school-aged children and adults. We wanted to understand if there were changes in breathing pattern in preschool-aged children as this may impact the results of the lung function test.

We used data from children in AREST CF aged 3 to 6 years who performed the multiple breath washout lung function test and found very small changes in breathing pattern. These small changes are not likely to affect the results from the multiple breath washout lung function test.

Authors: Rachel E. Foong, Alana J. Harper, Graham L. Hall and Kathryn A. Ramsey on behalf of AREST CF.

Published in the European Respiratory Journal in March 2017.