Asthma test for babies
What happens to a person's airways in the first few years of life can have an important impact on their future respiratory health. The things that affect the lungs and airways before birth and in very early childhood may influence whether a child will develop conditions of the airways, such as asthma, in later life. Until now, it has always been difficult to get an accurate idea of what is going on in the lungs of very young infants. But all that is set to change, thanks to National Asthma Campaign funded research currently taking place.
In adults with respiratory conditions, airway sensitivity is measured by looking at changes in the way the airways work after they have inhaled certain naturally-occurring agents. The most common agents used to measure bronchial responsiveness are histamine or methacholine. Using these substances in adults is relatively problem free, but the situation is different in babies. Adults are able to make a choice about whether or not they are happy to participate in studies involving these inhalations – very young children can't. Understandably, parents find the idea of their child inhaling substances unacceptable and are unhappy for them to be tested in this way.
Where the tests are carried out can also be a problem for children. Until now, for safety reasons, it has only been possible to conduct the tests in a hospital laboratory. The tests can take some time and, although they are not painful, the baby has to be sedated beforehand so that s/he sleeps for the duration of the test. This can be inconvenient for both the child and the parents.
It was these problems that they wanted to address. If they could come up with a simple and safe way of measuring how a baby's airways respond to different factors, they could work out which have the biggest impact on respiratory health. This may help predict future airway and breathing problems and may pave the way to being able to prevent asthma from an early age.
In September 2000, the team set about developing a simple and safe test for airway sensitivity in infants that would be acceptable to parents. Their efforts have now paid off. The team has devised a test that uses a simple solution of salty water instead of the substances used in adults. The test is so simple that eventually it will be done in the home, when the child is having their normal daytime nap – without the need for sedation! This is great news for both baby and parents.
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