[Exercise test for asthmatic children. For whom? What indications?]

Abstract

Asthma in children is not the most important indication for an exercise test. However, one might recommend a cardiopulmonary exercise test systematically in the follow-up of patients with severe asthma when there is persistent bronchial obstruction, when an asthmatic child complains of dyspnoea on exertion, or when the child's physical activity is limited. This test could be used to assess exercise tolerance, ventilatory adaptations, and the need for exercise training. Follow-up and evaluation of this training could be through a field exercise test (shuttle test or walk test). Moreover, the diagnosis of childhood asthma is frequently based only on symptoms suggestive of exercise-induced asthma. When the clinical features or a bronchodilatator test are not diagnostic, analysis of symptoms occurring during an exercise test can establish the diagnosis. The exercise test is thus a method that provides the time and intensity necessary to trigger exercise-induced bronchospasm.