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Impulse oscillometry measurement of distal airways obstruction in depleted uranium‐exposed Gulf War veterans
Author(s) -
Hines Stella E.,
Barnes Ashley H.,
Brown Clayton,
Gucer Patricia,
Oliver Marc S.,
Gaitens Joanna M.,
Condon Marian,
McDiarmid Melissa
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/ajim.22816
Subject(s) - spirometry , medicine , cohort , cardiology , depleted uranium , cohort study , uranium , materials science , asthma , metallurgy
A cohort of Gulf War I veterans who sustained exposure to depleted uranium undergoes biennial surveillance for potential uranium‐related health effects. We performed impulse oscillometry and hypothesized that veterans with higher uranium body burdens would have more obstructive abnormalities than those with lower burdens. Methods We compared pulmonary function of veterans in high versus low urine uranium groups by evaluating spirometry and oscillometry values. Results Overall mean spirometry and oscillometry resistance values fell within the normal ranges. There were no significant differences between the high and low uranium groups for any parameters. However, more veterans were classified as having obstruction by oscillometry (42%) than spirometry (8%). Conclusions While oscillometry identified more veterans as obstructed, obstruction was not uranium‐related. However, the added sensitivity of this method implies a benefit in wider surveillance of exposed cohorts and holds promise in identifying abnormalities in areas of the lung historically described as silent.