What is a normal static lung compliance in a child?

What is a normal static lung compliance in a child?

• A. 70-100
• B. 60-90
• C. 100-130
• D. 40-60

Answer: (A)

Static lung compliance shows how easily the lungs and chest wall expand when there is no movement of air. It’s calculated as the tidal volume divided by the plateau pressure minus PEEP (Cst = Vt / (Plat − PEEP)). In healthy children, this distensibility is typically about 70 to 100 mL per centimeter of water (0.07–0.10 L/cm H2O). That range means for each 1 cm H2O increase in the pressure across the lungs, roughly 70–100 mL of air is delivered. Values lower than this suggest stiffer lungs or a stiffer chest wall (such as edema, consolidation, or restrictive disease), while higher values can indicate overdistension or hyperinflation. So the 70–100 mL/cm H2O range best reflects normal static compliance in a child.

Static lung compliance shows how easily the lungs and chest wall expand when there is no movement of air. It’s calculated as the tidal volume divided by the plateau pressure minus PEEP (Cst = Vt / (Plat − PEEP)). In healthy children, this distensibility is typically about 70 to 100 mL per centimeter of water (0.07–0.10 L/cm H2O).

That range means for each 1 cm H2O increase in the pressure across the lungs, roughly 70–100 mL of air is delivered. Values lower than this suggest stiffer lungs or a stiffer chest wall (such as edema, consolidation, or restrictive disease), while higher values can indicate overdistension or hyperinflation. So the 70–100 mL/cm H2O range best reflects normal static compliance in a child.