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Modelling the effect of gravity on inert-gas washout outputs

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posted on 2018-06-14, 15:20 authored by Brody H. Foy, Sherif Gonem, Christopher Brightling, Salman Siddiqui, David Kay
Multiple-breath washout (MBW) is a pulmonary function test (PFT) that is used to infer lung function through measurement of ventilation heterogeneity (VH). However, the body position that a test is taken in may also influence VH, due to the "Slinky" effect of gravity on the lungs. In healthy subjects this has minimal effect, but in unhealthy groups, PFT outputs have been seen to change drastically with body position. In this study, we used a combined computational and clinical approach to better understand the response of outputs from the MBW to body position. A patient-specific model of the MBW was developed, then validated against clinically measured washout data, as well as broader results in the literature. This model was then used to compare changes in MBW outputs with respect to body position, showing that output changes sensitively predict regional airway size differences between lobes. We then highlight cases in which body position effects may bias MBW outputs, leading to elevated or masked responses to bronchoconstriction. We close by placing this result in context with broader clinical practice, and showing how it can help improve interpretation of test outputs.

History

Citation

Physiological Reports, 2018, 6 (10), e13709

Author affiliation

/Organisation/COLLEGE OF LIFE SCIENCES/School of Medicine/Department of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation

Version

  • VoR (Version of Record)

Published in

Physiological Reports

Publisher

Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The Physiological Society and the American Physiological Society.

eissn

2051-817X

Acceptance date

2018-04-15

Copyright date

2018

Available date

2018-06-14

Publisher version

https://physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.14814/phy2.13709

Language

en

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