Respiratory function measurements in infants: symbols, abbreviations and units.

Communication about infant lung function testing, as in any other field of science and medicine, requires the use of symbols, abbreviations, units, prefixes and suffixes. These should be unambiguous, and this is achieved by rigorous standardization by international scientific and medical bodies, and by governments. The present recommendations derive from the report of the European Community for Steel and Coal and the European Respiratory Society [1]. However, the list of abbreviations has been modified and extended by the joint ATS/ERS Working Party on "Infant Pulmonary Function Testing" to be appropriate for the field of infant lung function testing.