The exercise test did not reproduce shortness of breath in 25 patients, so the researchers were not able to determine the cause of their EID. However, none of these patients showed the classic signs of asthma during the treadmill test.
"The biggest benefits to these patients were getting them off medication that was not doing them any good and eliminating the anxiety that is often associated with shortness of breath," Weinberger said.
Weinberger noted that the treadmill test with continuous respiratory and cardiac monitoring used in the UI study takes longer than a simple exercise test, and requires specialized equipment and experience, but it does provides definitive diagnoses.
"We get answers, which is what the patients and parents want," he said.
In addition to Weinberger, who was senior author on the study, the research team included Mutasim Abu-Hasan, M.D., UI assistant professor (clinical) of pediatrics, and Beatrice Tannous, M.D., who was a pediatric resident at UI Children's Hospital of Iowa at the time of the study and who now works as a pediatrician in the Washington, D.C. area.
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Contact: Jennifer Brown
jennifer-l-brown@uiowa.edu
319-335-9917
University of Iowa
31-Mar-2005