- Design
- Modified three-round eDelphi consensus
- Population
- 39 UK paediatric respiratory physiotherapists, nurses and doctors
- Primary outcome
- Consensus on name, features and signs of dysfunctional breathing
- Effect
- Agreed 10 clinical features; no consensus on preferred name
An eDelphi in Archives of Disease in Childhood, published on 29 September 2026, asked physiotherapists, nurses and doctors from UK paediatric respiratory centres to reach consensus on breathing pattern disorders in children and young people. Thirty-nine took part in the first round and 29 completed the third.
There was no agreement between 'dysfunctional breathing' and 'breathing pattern disorder' as the preferred name. There was strong consensus on ten clinical features, six descriptive terms, twelve phrases children commonly use, and seven signs and symptoms consistent with the condition.
No validated diagnostic tool exists yet, and this consensus is the groundwork for one. For now it gives clinicians a shared vocabulary for a condition that is often mislabelled as poorly controlled asthma and treated with escalating inhalers.
- Consider dysfunctional breathing in a child with breathlessness out of proportion to examination and lung function.
- Listen for descriptions such as being unable to get a satisfying breath or needing to sigh or yawn.
- Check that asthma has been objectively confirmed before escalating treatment.
- Refer to respiratory physiotherapy where available for breathing retraining.
Why it matters
Children with breathing pattern disorders are commonly over-treated for asthma that is not the problem.
Don't overread it
Expert consensus from one country, not a validated diagnostic tool.
The statistics, in plain English
Consensus here meant at least 75% of panellists agreeing; it reflects expert opinion rather than tested diagnostic accuracy.
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