Background: The forced oscillation technique (FOT) is a minimally invasive test to evaluate asthma during resting ventilation. However, its role in longitudinal assessments, such as clinical remission, remains unclear.
Objective: To longitudinally assess asthma clinical remission and identify parameters that predict clinical remission at 12 months from baseline FOT.
Methods: Adult patients with asthma at our university hospital between April 2022 and May 2023 were enrolled in this prospective observational study. They were evaluated for 12 months after enrollment to determine whether they met the following clinical remission criteria: asthma control test score of more than or equal to 20 at enrollment and 12 months, no asthma exacerbations for 12 months, and no regular oral corticosteroid use during the 12 months. FOT parameters at enrollment were analyzed for associations with clinical remission.
Results: A total of 94 patients with asthma completed the study and were categorized into clinical and nonclinical remission groups. Comparison of pulmonary function tests, including the FOT, between the 2 groups revealed significant differences in resistance at 5 Hz and resistance at 20 Hz (R20) but not in forced expiratory volume in 1 second. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that R20 was associated with clinical remission, with adjusted odds ratios of 0.32 (95% CI: 0.12-0.91, P = .033) for R20.
Conclusion: R20 can be a useful predictor of future exacerbations in patients with asthma. These findings may assist in evaluating adult patients with asthma and normal forced expiratory volume in 1 second.
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