Objective: Dysfunctional breathing (DB) refers to abnormal patterns of breathing. No gold standard exists for diagnosis. In clinical practice we regularly see children with functional breathing problems. We collected data from this patient group to gain more insight into the characteristics of children with dysfunctional breathing.
Methods: We composed a retrospective, cross-sectional study. The population consisted of children referred to a physiotherapist by a pediatrician due to suspected dysfunctional breathing. Data from 2013-2015 were collected from patient files, selected according to patterns and onset of symptoms, concomitant asthma, Nijmegen questionnaire (NQ) score, maximum exercise capacity and breathing pattern.
Results: A total of 201 patients were included in the study, 66% of whom were female. The mean age was 13.9 years; 26% of the children were overweight. The most frequently reported symptoms were breathlessness, chest pain/tightness and dizziness. Fifty-two percent had a NQ score ≥23, mainly female. Twenty-eight percent of the children scored < p5 for their age on maximum exercise capacity; this proportion was substantially higher among males. Of the total population, 78% scored < p50 for their age. Subgroups with a higher body mass index (BMI) showed lower maximum exercise capacity. Children presenting with pulmonary symptoms were primarily misdiagnosed with asthma.
Conclusion: Dysfunctional breathing is a common cause of respiratory complaints. Most children with dysfunctional breathing have a high BMI and are in poor physical condition, which suggests a clinically relevant comorbidity and possible options for therapy. Children are often falsely diagnosed with asthma; better recognition will decrease unnecessary medication use.Introduction
“The choice to submit the forensic case study to the Journal of Addiction Therapy and Research was dictated by the match between the content and the potential readership. The publication process proved to be expedient and we were provided with constructive feedback from reviewers. The final article layout is attractive and conforms to standards. All-in-all, it has been a rewarding process.”
Elisabeth H Wiig
It was a great experience publishing through JCICM. The article has reached out to several institutions. Appreciate your professional work. Hope to work with you again
Anas Wardeh
"It was a pleasure to work with the editorial team of the journal on the submission of the manuscript. The team was professional, fast, and to the point".
NC A&T State University, USA
Moran Sciamama-Saghiv
Your service is very good and fast reply, also your service understand our situation and support us to publication our articles.
Ayman M Abu Mustafa
Journal of Pulmonary and Respiratory Research is good journal for respiratory research purposes. It takes 2-3 weeks maximum for review of the manuscript to get published and any corrections to be made in the manuscript. It needs good articles and studies to get publish in the respiratory medicine. I am really glad that this journal editors helped me to get my case report published.
Divya Khanduja
Your journal has accomplished its intended mission of providing very effective and efficient goals in dealing with submissions, conducting the reviewing process and in publishing accepted manuscripts in a timely manner. Keep up the great work and services that you provide.
University of Jacqmar, Inc., USA
John St. Cyr
I want to thank you for our collaboration. You were fast and effective with a positive spirit of teamwork.
I am truly excited from our collaboration. You were like always fast, efficient and accurate.
I hope that in the near future we will collaborate again.
Aikaterini Solomou
Your services are very good
Chukwuka Ireju Onyinye
I think that Heighpubs very good. You are very helpful. Thank you for everything.
Ana Ribeiro
Really good service with prompt response. Looking forward to having long lasting relationship with your journal
If you are already a member of our network and need to keep track of any developments regarding a question you have already submitted, click "take me to my Query."