Dharini Bhammar (Kinesiology and Nutrition Sciences), Danielle Strozza (Medicine), and co-authors recently published a paper, “Pitfalls in Expiratory Flow Limitation Assessment at Peak Exercise in Children: Role of Thoracic Gas Compression,” in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.
The article investigated the effects of thoracic gas compression on assessment of expiratory flow limitation at peak exercise in children with and without obesity. The findings show that when maximal expiratory flow volume loops are not corrected for gas compression, which is typical for most cardiopulmonary exercise test labs, it can lead to over diagnosis and overestimation of expiratory flow limitation. This is important information for clinicians and researchers who routinely use flow volume loops to assess mechanical ventilatory constraints during exercise.
