Breathing Patterns During Sleep in Stable Asthmatic Children

Abstract

Breathing patterns during sleep at night were studied in 15 asymptomatic asthmatic children and 11 nonasthmatic controls using impedance pneumography. Inspiratory time (T_I), expiratory time (T_E) and expiratory time/inspiratory time ratio (T_E/T_I) were used as the indices of breathing patterns. In the daytime, T_I, T_E and T_E/T_I, showed no significant differences between asthmatics and controls. During nocturnal sleep, T_E and T_E/T_I increased significantly in the asthmatics compared with the value during daytime, while these values showed only a small variation overnight in the controls. T_I showed no significant changes through the night in either the asthmatics and the controls. The results of this study indicate that the stable asthmatic children had abnormal breathing patterns during nocturnal sleep.