A model-based approach to interpreting multibreath nitrogen washout data

Abstract

The multibreath nitrogen washout (MBNW) test, as it is currently practiced, provides parameters of potential physiological significance that are derived from the relationship between the volume-normalized Phase III slope of the exhaled nitrogen fraction ([Formula: see text]) vs. the cumulative change in lung volume (V). Reliable evaluation of these parameters requires, however, that the subject breathe deeply and evenly, so that Phase III can be clearly identified in every breath. This places a burden on the test subject that may prove troublesome for young children and those with lung disease. Furthermore, the determination of the slope of Phase III requires that a decision be made as to when Phase II ends and Phase III begins. In an attempt to get around these methodological limitations, we develop here an alternative method of analysis based on a multicompartment model of the lung that accounts for the entire exhaled nitrogen profile, including Phases I, II, and III. Fitting this model to [Formula: see text] and V measured during a MBNW provides an estimate of the coefficient of variation of specific ventilation, as well as functional residual capacity, dead space volume, and a parameter that reflects structural asymmetry at the acinar level in the lung. In the present study, we demonstrate the potential utility of this modeling approach to the analysis of MBNW data. NEW & NOTEWORTHY The multibreath nitrogen washout test potentially provides important physiological information about regional ventilation heterogeneity throughout the lung, but the conventional analysis requires the subject to breathe deeply and regularly, which is not always practical. We have developed a model-based analysis method that avoids this limitation and that also provides measures of functional residual capacity and dead space volume, thereby expanding the applicability and scope of the method.