Reliability of breath by breath spirometry and relative flow-time indices for pulmonary function testing in horses.

Summary

# Pulmonary Function Testing in Horses: A Practical Approach to Assessing Respiratory Capability Reliable assessment of respiratory function remains challenging in equine practice, yet breath-by-breath spirometry offers a non-invasive method to quantify airway dynamics during both tidal and rebreathing conditions. Burnheim and colleagues evaluated the reproducibility of this technique in horses, measuring relative flow-time indices—parameters that reflect how quickly air moves through the airways relative to the breathing cycle—across repeated testing sessions. The researchers found that flow-time variables demonstrated excellent consistency between measurements, indicating that the technique can reliably detect genuine changes in pulmonary function rather than simply reflecting measurement noise. This reliability is particularly valuable for monitoring horses with suspected or diagnosed respiratory disease over time, as it allows clinicians to distinguish meaningful deterioration or improvement from natural variation, and the technique's good tolerance in horses makes it feasible for routine clinical application. For practitioners managing equine respiratory conditions—whether obstructive airway disease, inflammatory airway disease, or post-exercise complications—this standardised approach provides an objective tool to support clinical decision-making and track response to therapeutic interventions.

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Key Findings

• •Breath-by-breath spirometry was well tolerated by horses during testing
• •Relative flow-time indices demonstrated reproducible results suitable for repeated measures studies
• •The technique is applicable for evaluating respiratory function during both tidal breathing and rebreathing

Conditions Studied

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