Impulse oscillometry in the assessment of children's lung function.

PURPOSE: To review available evidence in the literature on impulse oscillometry in the assessment of lung function in children with respiratory diseases, especially asthma. DATA COLLECTION: Research in the Medline, PubMed, and Lilacs databases, with the keywords forced oscillation, impulse oscillometry, asthma and impulse oscillometry. RESULTS: The Impulse Oscillometry System (IOS) allows the measurement of resistance and reactance of airways and is used as a diagnostic resource. A significant association between the findings of the IOS and those of spirometry is observed. In asthma, the IOS has already been used to assess the bronchodilator response and the therapeutic response to different drugs and has shown to be a sensitive technique to evaluate disease control. There are limitations to this assessment, such as children with attention deficit and in some cases it is difficult to interpret the results from a clinical point of view. CONCLUSION: The IOS is a useful tool for the measurement of the lung function of children. It is an easy test, although its interpretation is not straightforward.