Pediatricians could be missing a lot of kids with moderate to severe asthma, according to new local research.

Twelve-year-old Dante Oglesby takes his asthma in stride.

"The only time I’ve had it real bad is like when I was playing basketball, and I could barely breathe and stuff,” he said.

But his pediatrician, Dr. James Stout at Odessa Brown Children's Clinic, says that like many kids, Dante underestimates his symptoms.

“I was struck over and over again by how many children I found that had obstruction, that I couldn't find by my stethoscope, and I couldn't find by asking the right questions,” he said.

So Dr. Stout uses this tool to help him diagnose kids. t's called spirometry and it measures a person's ability to breathe out. It clearly shows the impact of asthma on Dante’s lung power.

"The dotted line up here is normal, and this represents Dante right there,” he explained.

KING

Dante Oglesby gets tested with spirometry.

Dr. Stout and colleagues conducted a study to see how much spirometry affects asthma diagnosis in kids.

The findings showed, when spirometry was considered alongside symptom frequency, nearly a third of kids were reclassified as having more severe asthma than originally diagnosed. It's crucial information for doctors.

"A child with more severe asthma may have trouble just getting through their day, rushing from one class to another for example or getting to a school bus,” Dr. Stout said.

He said doctors can use the information gained from spirometry  to changed a child's asthma treatment plan.

“They can use it as an important teaching tool, to help kids interpret their own lung health,” he said.

Right now many pediatricians don't use spirometry. But you can virtually always find the tool at clinics that specialize in asthma.  

Asthma cannot be cured but it can be controlled in most children so they'll have fewer symptoms, and more active lives.