Pulmonary function in children post-empyema: spirometry versus lung clearance index

OpenAlex İngilizce

Background We hypothesise that the lung clearance index (LCI) would be superior to spirometry in diagnosing early-stage respiratory diseases earlier and, more precisely, in patients who received medical or surgical treatment for empyema. Methods Children over 5 years old diagnosed with empyema at least 6 months ago were recruited. In addition, a control group was created from healthy individuals between the ages of 5–18 years. Spirometry and LCI were performed in both groups. Results The spirometric values of the patients were compared with the spirometric values of the controls; there was no significant difference between the patient and control groups' forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC) and FEV1/FVC z scores results when compared (p=0.610, p=0.342 and p=0.298, respectively). In addition, when the LCI 2.5% values of the patients were compared with the LCI 2.5% values of the controls and reference values, the LCI 2.5% was found to be significantly abnormal (p=0.003 and p=0.005, respectively). Conclusion In the long-term follow-up of patients who received inpatient treatment for empyema, airway disease that could not be detected by spirometry was obtained using the LCI method.