Methacholine Testing More Accurate for Diagnosing Asthma in Children

Methacholine challenge testing (MCCT) can more accurately diagnose children with post-exercise asthma per a new study. Researchers found that MCCT helped identify nearly 25% of the study group who had asthma but went undiagnosed after treadmill testing.

Investigators from Poland’s Medical University of Lodz compared MCCT studies with exercise treadmill challenge (ECT) testing in 101 patients (aged 10-18 years) to determine which more accurately diagnosed those with asthma. The study found 43.6% of patients experienced asthma after exercise; however, statistical analysis found that MCCT identified an additional 24.3% of patients with asthma that were not diagnosed via separate ETC testing.

Additionally, the data show MCCT had significantly higher sensitivity (90.9% vs. 77.3%) and positive predictive value (80% vs. 65.4%) versus ETC testing in children who experience post-exercise asthma.

The researchers concluded their findings had “important clinical consequences,” because ECT testing alone could lead to a large population of children with undiagnosed asthma. “Untreated asthma in children with exercise-induced bronchoconstriction could cause them to be discharged from physical education classes,” the group wrote in its analysis.

The complete study findings were published in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

—Drew Amorosi

Reference:

1. Zaczeniuk M, Woicha-Kolejwa K, Stelmach W. Methacholine challenge testing is superior to the exercise challenge for detecting asthma in children. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2015;115(6 ):481-484.