Lung growth was studied in 420 Dutch children aged 6-11 yrs. Forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), peak expiratory flow (PEF) and maximal mid-expiratory flow (MMEF) were measured four times over a 2.5 yr period with a rolling-seal spirometer. In boys, pulmonary function increased with approximately the same velocity at all ages studied. In girls, however, t...

INTRODUCTION The effects of obesity on pulmonary functions have not been addressed previously among Saudi population. We aim to study the effects of obesity on spirometry tests among healthy non-smoking adults. METHODS A cross sectional study conducted among volunteers healthy non-smoking adults Subjects. We divided the subjects into two groups according to their BMI. The first group consiste...

Airborne particles are associated with adverse health effects and contribute to excess mortality in epidemiological studies. A recent hypothesis proposes that the high numbers of ultrafine (<0.1 microm diameter) particles in ambient air might provoke alveolar inflammation and subsequently cause exacerbations in pre-existing cardiopulmonary diseases. To test the hypothesis adult asthmatics were ...

BACKGROUND High levels of asthma prevalence and severity of respiratory symptoms have been found in the Caribbean but little is known about the impact of air pollution in these regions. This study aimed to describe air pollution and measure the associations with child lung function in Guadeloupe (French West Indies). METHODS Data from 30 randomly chosen elementary schools (8-13 years old) wer...

BACKGROUND Using peak expiratory flow (PEF) as an alternative to spirometry parameters (FEV1 and FVC), for detection of airway reversibility in diseases with airflow limitation is challenging. We developed logistic regression (LR) model to discriminate bronchodilator responsiveness (BDR) and then compared the results of models with a performance of >18%, >20%, and >22% increase in ΔPEF% (PEF ch...

BACKGROUND The American Thoracic Society (ATS) has set the acceptable resistance for spirometers at less than 1.5 cm H2O/l/s over the flow range 0-14 l/s and for monitoring devices at less than 2.5 cm H2O/l/s (0-14 l/s). The aims of this study were to determine the resistance characteristics of commonly used spirometers and monitoring devices and the effect of resistance on ventilatory function...

BACKGROUND Respiratory muscle strength is influenced by aging. OBJECTIVES To assess, in a healthy elderly population, the influence of physical activity and functional performance on the pulmonary function parameters, on respiratory muscle strength and on coughing. METHODS Observation study that sixty one elderly with age equal or more than 60 years (72.3 ± 7.2 years), with normal spirometr...

STUDY OBJECTIVE To determine the ability of children and adolescents to meet the American Thoracic Society (ATS) goals for spirometry quality that were based on results from adults. DESIGN Observational. PARTICIPANTS More than 4,000 public school students, ages 9 to 18 years. MEASUREMENTS Spirometry was performed annually for 3 years, with the recording of maneuver quality measures of for...

Background: Different types of corticosteroids with different characteristics, such as hydrocortisone and dexamethasone, have been used in treatment of exacerbated chronic obstructive pulmonary disease but drug of choice unclear. The main goal of present study was to compare the efficacy of hydrocortisone and dexamethasone on clinical symptoms, peak expiratory flow, oxidative stress factors and...

Including positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) in the manual resuscitation bag (MRB) may render manual hyperinflation (MHI) ineffective as a secretion maneuver technique in mechanically ventilated patients. In this study we aimed to determine the effect of increased PEEP or decreased compliance on peak expiratory flow rate (PEF) during MHI. A blinded, randomized study was performed on a lung...