BACKGROUND According to current knowledge, asthma is basically an inflammatory process. Its causes and physiopathological mechanisms are various. The final result is a recurrent obstructive bronchial process, with sibilants and/or dypnea, which causes an upset in functional respiratory tests, among which the maximum respiratory peak flow meter diminished for the age, sex, and height of patient....

Methods We used SMS to collect symptoms and peak flow (PEF) meter readings from children with asthma. Digital PEF meters enabled data download to confirm validity of PEF data sent by SMS. Parents responded to 5 SMS messages daily for 7 days during baseline and for 14 days during a cold. Parents provided written feedback about the SMS-based data collection at the beginning (Q1) and at the end (Q...

The aim of this study was to look at differences in countermovement jump (CMJ) performance and selected kinetic parameters in athletes of different training backgrounds and to examine the relationships between these parameters. The subjects were 14 endurance athletes, 12 sprinters, and 13 fire-fighter aspirants (controls); each performed two CMJ on a force plate. The best jump of two attempts w...

Among 698 Birmingham factory workers, Asian men (n = 75) tended to have lower peak expiratory flow rates (PEFR) than black (n = 156) or white (n = 138) men when age, height and smoking habits were accounted for. This trend reached statistical significance in Asian females (n = 20), despite a small sample size. There were no significant differences in PEFR between blacks and whites of either sex.

BACKGROUND A hospital based, community service asthma education programme for adults to improve asthma knowledge, promote compliance with medication, and reduce morbidity was evaluated. METHODS The programme was evaluated using a randomised experimental and control group design with repeated measurements over 12 months. A volunteer community sample of 192 respondents was recruited of whom 116...

Nurses administering aerosolized pentamidine (AP) were studied to determine any effect AP may be having on their health. Exposure was determined by each nurse's self-report of treatment given as recorded in a daily log and personal and area pentamidine sampling. Outcome measures were self-reported symptoms recorded in a daily log and peak expiratory flow rates (PEFR) and cross-shift and cross-w...

Studied the influence of actual and false peak flow (PEF) information on dyspnea (breathlessness) in two experiments, each with 30 children with and 30 without asthma (7-17 years). Dyspnea, PEF, and lung function were measured before and after standardized physical exercise. Dyspnea was measured with a visual analog scale. PEF was measured with a peak flow meter and used for manipulation of dys...

In the management and evaluation of asthma, simple instruments for measurements of peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) are necessary. The aim of this study was to determine normal PEFR of the healthy children in Babol, Iran. This study was randomly done on 1050 students (primary and secondary schools) in Babol. Mini-Wright peak flow meter was used for measurement of PEFR. The range of age, weight ...

The mini Wright peak flow meter is a useful, portable instrument for field studies but being sensitive to air density will under-read at altitude. True peak expiratory flow will increase at altitude, however, because of the decreased air density, given that dynamic resistance is unchanged. The effect of simulated altitude on peak expiratory flow (PEF) was determined in six subjects with both th...