Patients and methods
Preschool children aged 3-6 years who attended between 01.05.2022 and
30.11.2022 the Division of Paediatric Allergy, Pulmonology and Cystic
Fibrosis of the University Hospital in Frankfurt with suspected asthma
were retrospectively analysed.
All children had a history of recurrent episodes of physician-documented
wheezing, cough and/or respiratory distress with bronchodilator
responsiveness of which at least one episode in the last 12 months.
Furthermore, they were free from respiratory tract infections for ≥2
weeks prior to the measurements.
Atopy in children was defined as a positive skin prick test (SPT)
> 3 mm against common allergens (birch, grass, house dust
mites, cat, milk and egg).
Patients receiving SABA and LABA, in the last 6 and 24 hours
respectively, were excluded as well as those suffering from chronic
disease or infections affecting the respiratory system (e.g., congenital
heart disease, cystic fibrosis, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, tuberculosis,
HIV).
Ethics approval was obtained from the ethics committee of the Goethe
University in Frankfurt (Application Number 2022-1094). According to the
German Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG) there is no right to
information under article 15 of regulation (EU) 2016/679, as the data is
required for scientific research purposes and providing the information
would require a disproportionate effort.