Table Info

Table 1.

Available techniques for the assessment of bronchial airways by size (small vs. large airways)

Method	Small airway function	Large airway function
1. Spirometry	FEF25–75%, FVC, FVC/SVC	FEV1, FEV1/FVC
2. IOS	R5–R20, X5, AX, Fres Δ X5 in-esp	R20
3. Single or multiple breath nitrogen washout (SBNW/MBNW) test	Slope phase III, CV, CC, Sacin, Scond
4. Body plethysmography	RV, RV/TLC
5. High resolution CT (HRCT)	Air trapping, airway wall thickness	Airway wall thickness
6. Nuclear medicine (scintigraphy, SPECT, PET)	Regional ventilation defects
7. 3He-MRI	Non-ventilated lung volume
8. Bronchoscopy	Transbronchial biopsy, BAL	Endobronchial biopsy
9. Sputum induction	Late phase sputum	Early phase sputum
10. Exhaled nitric oxide (eNO)	Alveolar eNO
11. CT and computational fluid dynamics	Changes in airway volume and resistance

AX: reactance area; Fres: resonant frequency; FEV1: forced expiratory volume in 1 s; R5: resistance at 5 Hz; Sacin and Scond: acinar and conductive airways ventilation heterogeneity; TLC: total lung capacity; FEF25–75%: forced mid-expiratory flow; SVC: slow vital capacity; X5: reactance at 5 Hz; esp: espiratory; CV: closing capacity; CC: closing volume; SPECT: single-photon emission CT; PET: positron emission tomography; BAL: broncho-alveolar lavage

Note. Adapted from “Small airway dysfunction and poor asthma control: a dangerous liaison,” by Cottini M, Licini A, Lombardi C, Bagnasco D, Comberiati P, Berti A. Clin Mol Allergy. 2021;19:7 (https://clinicalmolecularallergy.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12948-021-00147-8). CC-BY.

Declarations

Author contributions

JP: Conceptualization, Writing—original draft, Writing—review & editing. CL, PC, ML, AB, EH, and GP: Writing—original draft, Writing—review & editing. MC: Conceptualization, Writing—original draft, Writing—review & editing, Supervision.

Conflicts of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval

Not applicable.

Consent to participate

Not applicable.

Consent to publication

Not applicable.

Availability of data and materials

Not applicable.

Funding

Not applicable.

Copyright

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