Maternal atopic disease modifies effects of prenatal risk factors on exhaled nitric oxide in infants.

In a prospective healthy birth cohort, we determined whether levels of exhaled nitric oxide (eNO) in healthy unselected infants at the age of 1 month were associated with maternal atopic disease and prenatal and early postnatal environmental exposures. Tidal eNO was measured in 98 healthy, unsedated infants (35 from mothers with atopy) (mean age +/- SD, 36.0 +/- 6.

Measurement of lung volume and ventilation distribution with an ultrasonic flow meter in healthy infants.

Small airway disease in infants is characterised by abnormal lung volume and uneven ventilation distribution. An inert tracer gas washin/washout technique using a pulsed ultrasonic flow meter is presented to measure functional residual capacity (FRC) and ventilation distribution in spontaneously breathing and unsedated infants. With a pulsed ultrasound sent through the main stream of the flow meter, flow, volume and MM of the breathing gas can be calculated.

Correlation properties of tidal volume and end-tidal O2 and CO2 concentrations in healthy infants.

We investigated whether breath-to-breath fluctuations in tidal volume (VT) and end-tidal O2 and CO2 exhibit long-range correlations and whether parameters describing the correlations can be used as noninvasive descriptors of control of breathing. We measured VT and end-tidal O2 and CO2 over n = 352 +/- 104 breaths in 26 term, healthy, unsedated infants (mean age +/- SD: 36 +/- 6 days) and calculated the detrended fluctuation function [F(n)]. The F(n) of the breath-to-breath time series of VT, O2, and CO2 revealed a linear increase with a breath number on log-log plots with a slope that was significantly different from 0.

Tidal exhaled nitric oxide in healthy, unsedated newborn infants with prenatal tobacco exposure.

Tidal fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FE(NO)) changes were investigated in healthy, unsedated infants with or without prenatal tobacco exposure. Tidal flow (V), FE(NO), and CO(2) were measured in 20 healthy, unsedated infants [age: 25-58 days, length: 56.5 +/- 2.

Assessment of an infant whole-body plethysmograph using an infant lung function model.

In order to facilitate international multicentre studies and improve the quality control of infant pulmonary function measurements, the European Respiratory Society-American Thoracic Society Task Force for infant lung function testing has recently developed specifications for standardized infant lung function equipment and software. A mechanical infant lung model analogue has been developed to assess whether infant lung function equipment is able to meet these requirements. However, the practical testing of infant lung function equipment using such models is highly complex because of the need to use very small pressure and flow changes, and the numerous potentially confounding factors associated with both the design of the device and the testing procedure.

The infant lung function model: a mechanical analogue to test infant lung function equipment.

To facilitate international multicentre studies and quality control of infant pulmonary function measurements, the European Respiratory Society-American Thoracic Society (ERS-ATS) working group for infant lung function testing aims to develop specifications for standardized infant lung function equipment and software. However, a standardized test device is also needed to test whether existing infant lung function equipment is able to meet these requirements. The authors have built a "mechanical model baby" consisting of a linear pump which can reproduce prerecorded tidal flow waveforms with a precision of 0.