A reevaluation of the interrupter technique for airway resistance measurement

An attempt was made to obtain a better insight into the actual transient response of airway opening pressure (Pao) following rapid occlusion. With this knowledge it was hoped to be able to clarify the reason for the overestimations found by other investigators, and possibly to obtain a more accurate method of estimating alveolar pressure just prior to interruption. This would result in an improved method for estimating airway resistance. Use of an extrapolation method was found to provide an improved correlation between resistances determined by the interruptor technique and those found by the plethysmograph in normal subjects.