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| With help from Patricia Wilkinson, pediatric pulmonary technologist,
U.Va.’s new NIOX Nitric Oxide Test System measures the nitric
oxide levels in the breath of Christina Gordon. The test can
help children with asthma get the right medication and doses. |
July
1, 2004 -- For most of us, breathing
comes easily. But for an estimated
17 million Americans,
including 5 million children,
asthma sometimes makes breathing
very difficult. Asthma is a chronic
lung disease that causes a person’s
lungs and airways, or breathing
tubes, at times to become inflamed
and clogged. During an asthma
attack, a person may have trouble
breathing, feel a squeezing in the
chest, cough or wheeze.
No
one knows for sure why, but asthma is on the rise in the United
States and is becoming more common
in children and young adults—increasing
72 percent since 1982. There is
no cure, although most children
with mild symptoms will
outgrow it. Fortunately,
through proper medication
and avoiding known
triggers
asthma can be controlled,
and potentially life-threatening
attacks can be prevented.
The U.Va. Children’s Medical
Center has a new breathing test that
can help determine if someone with
asthma is getting the right medication
and the right dose.
This
simple test, called the NIOX Nitric Oxide Test System, measures
the amount of nitric oxide a person
breathes out. Everyone breathes out
this gas, but researchers at U.Va. and
elsewhere have discovered that people
with asthma have higher than normal
levels. Very high levels may be a
warning that a person is susceptible
to an asthma attack and may need to
take medication even if they feel OK.
During
the five-minute test, children as young as 3 breathe into a
tube while watching a video game.
They try to blow hard enough to get
a little girl in a balloon to take flight,
while a computer system measures
the amount of nitric oxide exhaled.
What
Causes Asthma?
Factors
that can trigger an asthma attack
include:
• viral infections like colds
• smoke
• air pollutants
• pollen, mold, dust
• allergies
• cold air
• exercise
• emotional stress |
“This
test is an additional tool we have to help come up with the best
treatment strategy for patients with
hard-to-control asthma,” says Ben
Gaston, M.D., a pediatric lung specialist
and researcher. He helped discover
the connection between asthma
and nitric oxide.
“Measuring
nitric oxide levels is a great way to find out what’s actually
going on in someone’s airways. It has
advantages over other tests, like
spirometry, that measure how muchair
a person can take in and push out,” says Dr. Gaston. “The NIOX
test can help us better determine whether a
child is getting too much medicine or
not enough medicine or whether worsening
asthma might be in store for
them, so we can make sure they’re taking
medication to prevent an attack.”
Some
children with severe asthma may benefit from having the test
done every month. Children with
mild asthma may need to have it
done just one time. “We try to work
closely with a child’s family and referring
physician so we can answer any questions about treatment in one
appointment,” Dr. Gaston says.
If
your child has hard-to-control
asthma, you may want to consider
the NIOX test.
To
make an appointment with a U.Va. pediatric lung (pulmonary)
doctor, call (434) 924-5321, or
have your family physician contact
U.Va.’s physician referral service
(800) 552-3723 and ask for a
pediatric pulmonary specialist.
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