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Letter
Uncertain role of spirometry in managing childhood asthma in the UK 2019
  1. Stephen W Turner
  1. Department of Child Health, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
  1. Correspondence to Prof Stephen W Turner, Department of Child Health, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB25 2ZG, UK; s.w.turner{at}abdn.ac.uk

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Asthma guidelines recommend that spirometry should be used for monitoring the condition in children. Surprisingly there is no link between rising or falling spirometry and treatment change. One guideline recommends that treatment might be increased if the per cent forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) is <80% or <60% of predicted.1 However, lung function is usually within the normal range in children2 with asthma, so these cut-offs are not helpful. Recently published data3 provide evidence of proof-of-concept and inform sample size calculation for a ‘spirometry trial’.

To explore the feasibility and acceptability of a ‘spirometry trial’, we contacted 34 principal investigators on an ongoing asthma clinical trial …

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Footnotes

  • Contributors SWT conceived the idea, devised the question, collected the results and wrote the letter. All respondents whose quotes are used gave permission for the anonymous use of their quotes.

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; internally peer reviewed.

  • Patient consent for publication Not required.