Lung clearance index in patients with cystic fibrosis: Can we avoid repeating the test three times?
Multiple breath washout (MBW) testing and its derived measurements (e.g., lung clearance index (LCI)) are useful for measuring ventilation heterogeneity in patients with cystic fibrosis, monitoring disease progression, and assessing the response to treatments. However, the use of MBW in routine clinical practice is limited by the long washout time and total test duration, especially in patients with more advanced disease. Recommendations are to complete three MBW repeats. In this analysis, we examine whether two acceptable repeats would provide an accurate assessment of the LCI and could therefore avoid the need for a third measurement, thus reducing total test time.
Authors
- Alex Robert Horsley (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1828-0058)
- Francis Gilchrist (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1947-7621)
- David W. Boorman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5974-8692)
- Anirban Maitra (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7923-9978)
- Craig W. MacNaughton
- Andrew Jones (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3232-1055)
- Amany Fathy Elbehairy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5180-519X)
Institutions
- Manchester Academic Health Science Centre (GB)
- University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust (GB)
- University of Manchester (GB)
- Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (GB)
- Royal Manchester Children's Hospital (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Cystic Fibrosis
- Published
- 2025-08-05
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcf.2025.07.016
- Primary Topic
- Cystic Fibrosis Research Advances
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Institute for Health and Care Research
- Manchester Biomedical Research Centre