The clinical significance of lung hypoexpansion in acute childhood asthma.

Background: Many children experiencing acute asthmatic episodes have chest radiographs, which may show lung hyperinflation, hypoinflation, or normal inflation. Lung hypoinflation may be a sign of respiratory fatigue and poor prognosis.

Objective: To compare the clinical course in children with asthma according to the degree of lung inflation on chest radiographs.