Can bronchoconstriction and bronchodilatation in horses be detected using electrical impedance tomography?

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) generates images of the lungs based on impedance change and was able to detect changes in airflow after histamine challenge in horses. OBJECTIVES: To confirm that EIT can detect histamine-provoked changes in airflow and subsequent drug-induced bronchodilatation. Novel EIT flow variables were developed and examined for changes in airflow. METHODS: Bronchoconstriction was induced using stepwise histamine bronchoprovocation in 17 healthy sedated horses. The EIT variables were recorded at baseline, after saline nebulization (control), at the histamine concentration causing bronchoconstriction (Cmax ) and 2 and 10 minutes after albuterol (salbutamol) administration. Peak global inspiratory (PIFEIT ) and peak expiratory EIT (PEFEIT ) flow, slope of the global expiratory flow-volume curve (FVslope ), steepest FVslope over all pixels in the lung field, total impedance change (surrogate for tidal volume; VTEIT ) and intercept on the expiratory FV curve normalized to VTEIT (FVintercept /VTEIT ) were indexed to baseline and analyzed for a difference from the control, at Cmax , 2 and 10 minutes after albuterol. Multiple linear regression explored the explanation of the variance of Δflow, a validated variable to evaluate bronchoconstriction using all EIT variables. RESULTS: At Cmax , PIFEIT , PEFEIT , and FVslope significantly increased whereas FVintercept /VT decreased. All variables returned to baseline 10 minutes after albuterol. The VTEIT did not change. Multivariable investigation suggested 51% of Δflow variance was explained by a combination of PIFEIT and PEFEIT . CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE Changes in airflow during histamine challenge and subsequent albuterol administration could be detected by various EIT flow volume variables.