Multiple breath washout: measuring early manifestations of lung pathology

Sanja Stanojevic; Cole Bowerman; Paul Robinson

doi:10.1183/20734735.0016-2021

Multiple breath washout: measuring early manifestations of lung pathology

Breathe (Sheff). 2021 Sep;17(3):210016. doi: 10.1183/20734735.0016-2021.

Authors

Sanja Stanojevic¹, Cole Bowerman¹, Paul Robinson^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Dept of Community Health and Epidemiology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada.
² Dept of Respiratory Medicine, Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, Australia.
³ The Children's Hospital at Westmead Clinical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.

Abstract

The multiple breath washout (MBW) test measures the efficiency of gas mixing in the lungs and has gained significant interest over the past 20 years. MBW outcomes detect early lung function impairment and peripheral airway pathology, through its main outcome measure lung clearance index (LCI). LCI measures the number of lung turnovers required to washout an inert tracer gas. MBW is performed during normal (tidal) breathing, making it particularly suitable for young children or those who have trouble performing forced manoeuvres. Additionally, research in chronic respiratory disease populations has shown that MBW can detect acute clinically relevant changes before conventional lung function tests, such as spirometry, thus enabling early intervention. The development of technical standards for MBW and commercial devices have allowed MBW to be implemented in clinical research and potentially routine clinical practice. Although studies have summarised clinimetric properties of MBW indices, additional research is required to establish the clinical utility of MBW and, if possible, shorten testing time. Sensitive, feasible measures of early lung function decline will play an important role in early intervention for people living with respiratory diseases.

Educational aim: To describe the multiple breath washout test, its applications to lung pathology and respiratory disease, as well as directions for future research.