Physiological Phenotyping of Airway Disease

Abstract

While emerging evidence supports personalised medicine for patients with asthma, there is still much to learn about the physiological measures necessary to effectively enable personalised therapies. The bronchodilator response is an important physiological measure that has traditionally been used to define the presence of asthma, however, the mechanisms of response remain poorly understood. Home monitoring of peak expiratory flow rates (PEF) is a valuable tool for minimising asthma exacerbations, but there is a lack of data on what constitutes normal day-to-day PEF variability. Additionally, small airway dysfunction plays a significant role in the presentation and management of both asthma and smokers with normal spirometry. It is an important characteristic contributing to poor disease outcomes but is often overlooked. Correlating traditional spirometry measures of small airway function with advanced methods could enhance the accessibility of small airway evaluation in routine clinical practice.