This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Allen, J. L. Articles by Wohl, M. E. B. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Allen, J. L. Articles by Wohl, M. E. B. Pubmed/NCBI databases Medline Plus Health Information GERD Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Pulmonary Function in Older Children and Young Adults with Gastroesophageal Reflux

Department of Medicine, The Children's Hospital, and Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts

Mary Ellen B. Wohl

Department of Medicine, The Children's Hospital, and Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts

A wide variety of types of pulmonary diseases and respiratory symptoms have been associated with gastroesophageal reflux (GER). Asthma, chronic bronchitis, bronchiectasis, and pulmonary fibrosis have all been linked to GER, but causal mechanisms have been difficult to establish. To characterize pulmonary function abnormalities in older children and young adults (age 7-23 years) with GER, lung function was evaluated in 22 patients being treated for reflux. The patients were divided into two groups: nine subjects (Group 1) had no history of pulmonary symptoms. Thirteen subjects (Group 2) had known pulmonary disease; all had diagnosed asthma, and five had a history of recurrent pneumonia. Lung volumes and spirometry were measured. Airway reactivity was assessed by measuring change in flows following isocapneic hyperventilation of subfreezing air. The presence of "small airway" disease was assessed by air-helium flow volume curves and the single breath oxygen test. Lung size, as indicated by measurement of total lung capacity, was normal in all patients. Flow rates, density dependence of maximal expiratory flow, single breath oxygen test, and tests of airway reactivity were abnormal only in Group 2 patients and were normal in the Group 1 patients. That not all children with GER have abnormal pulmonary function suggests that, if there is a causal relationship between GER and lung disease, it is multi-factorial in nature. Children with GER who do have lung disease have evidence of airway obstruction, maldistribution of ventilation, and increased airway reactivity, but do not have restricted lung volumes.

Clinical Pediatrics, Vol. 25, No. 11, 541-546 (1986)
DOI: 10.1177/000992288602501101


CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?