Background and Aim
The eucapnic voluntary hyperventilation (EVH) testing is a diagnostic tool for diagnostics of exercise‐induced bronchoconstriction; while the testing has become more common among children, data on the test's feasibility among children remain limited. Our aim was to investigate EVH testing feasibility among children, diagnostic testing cut‐off values, and which factors affect testing outcomes.
Methods
We recruited 134 patients aged 10–16 years with a history of exercise‐induced dyspnoea and 100 healthy control children to undergo 6‐min EVH testing. Testing feasibility was assessed by the children's ability to achieve ≥70% of the target minute ventilation of 30 times forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1). Bronchoconstriction was assessed as a minimum of 8%, 10%, 12%, 15% or 20% fall in FEV1. Patient characteristics were correlated with EVH outcomes.
Results
Overall, 98% of the children reached ≥70%, 88% reached ≥80%, 79% reached ≥90% and 62% reached ≥100% of target ventilation in EVH testing; of children with a history of exercise‐induced dyspnoea, the decline percentages were as follows: 24% (≥8% fall), 17% (≥10% fall), 10% (≥12% fall), 6% (≥15% fall) and 5% (≥20% fall) in FEV1, compared to 11%, 4%, 3%, 1% and 0% among the healthy controls, respectively. Healthy controls and boys performed testing at higher ventilation rates (
p
< .05).
Conclusion
Eucapnic voluntary hyperventilation testing is feasible among children aged 10–16 years and has diagnostic value in evaluating exercise‐induced dyspnoea among children. A minimum 10% fall in FEV1 is a good diagnostic cut‐off value. Disease status appears to be important covariates.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.