A positive effect of a short period stay in Alpine environment on lung function in asthmatic children

Lung function is a central issue in diagnosis and determination of asthma severity and asthma control has been previously reported to improve after a stay in mountain environment for at least 2 weeks. No data are available for shorter periods of stay, in particular for small airways during a stay at altitude. The aim of this study is to focus on changes in respiratory function, regarding both the central airways and the peripheral airways in the first 2 weeks of stay in a mountain environment in asthmatic children. In this study, 66 asthmatic children (age: 14 ± 2.8 years) were evaluated through spirometric and oscillometric tests at the time of arrival at the Istituto Pio XII, Misurina (BL), Italy, 1756 m above sea level (T0), after 24 h (T1), and 168 h (T2) of stay. FEV1%, FEF25%–75%, and FEV1/FVC increased significantly from T0 value both at T1 and T2 (respectively, p = 0.0002, p < 0.0001, p = 0.0002). Oscillometry showed a significant improvement in R5, R20, and R5–20 at both T1 and T2 as compared to T0 (respectively, p = 0.0001, p = 0.0002, and p = 0.049). Reactance at 5 Hz (X5) improved significantly at T2 versus T0, p = 0.0022. The area under reactance curve between Fres and 5 Hz (AX) was significantly reduced (p = 0.0001) both at T1 and T2 as compared to T0. This study shows an improvement in respiratory indices as soon as after 24 h of stay at altitude, persisting in the following week.