Serial peak expiratory flow (PEF) assessment has been proposed in the clinical evaluation of asthma. In subjects attending the asthma clinic of a tertiary care hospital, we wanted to assess: 1) compliance in performing PEF; and 2) accuracy of a PEF-diary. Twenty adult asthmatic subjects, all using inhaled steroids, were asked to assess their PEF in the morning and evening with a VMX instrument ...

A randomised controlled open comparison of azlocillin and gentamicin versus carbenicillin and gentamicin was carried out in patients with cystic fibrosis who were chronically infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The clinical response was assessed by measurements of pulmonary function and of the patients' feelings of wellbeing scored on a visual analogue scale. The sputum penetration of the ant...

A trial was conducted of continuous nebulised salbutamol and oral once a day prednisolone in a group of 11 children with status asthmaticus (group A) and compared with a conventional protocol comprising aminophylline infusion and intravenous hydrocortisone every six hours in a matched control group (group B). Monitoring by a clinical asthma score, pulse oximetry (oxygen saturation, SaO2), and p...

OBJECTIVE The study focused on assessment of the health status of workers during construction phase of highway rehabilitation projects at six selected sites of N5 around Lahore, including Kala Shah Kaku, Muridke, Kamuki, Bhaipheru, Pattoki, and Okara. METHODS The study was based on multi-methods approach involving hazard identification through survey and checklist as well as a questionnaire f...

The diurnal variation (DV) in peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) has been studied among 132 grain elevator workers who accomplished three daily measurements of PEFR during three weeks. DV was calculated as the difference between the highest and the lowest PEFR as a percentage of the mean PEFR on each day. For the whole group the median was 5.9%. DV was higher among smokers and among workers with ...

BACKGROUND Variability of peak expiratory flow (PEF) has been proposed as a surrogate for bronchial hyperresponsiveness. The normal range of variability of PEF for children has been reported and the test has been used to screen for asthma in population based studies. However, there is little information on the reproducibility of the method in epidemiological settings. METHODS In a cohort stud...

OBJECTIVES Previous research found measures of pulmonary functioning to be strong predictors of cognitive functioning and mortality; however, there is considerable individual variability in performance on these measures. In the present analyses, the relative contribution of genetic and environmental influences to variability in average peak expiratory flow rate (APEFR) are examined in a sample ...

Peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) was measured in 300 healthy adult male and female staff and students of the University of Benin, Benin City, and the College of Education, Ekiadolor, near Benin. The variations of Peak Expiratory Flow Rate with respect to height (ht), weight (wt) and chest circumference (cc) were determined in these subjects. PEFR values fell within the middle to the lower limit...

The physiological mechanisms by which vibration and other physiotherapy interventions may clear secretions in subjects with cystic fibrosis are unknown. The main aim of this study was to compare the expiratory flow rates and frequencies of airflow oscillation of vibration to those of Acapella(R), Flutter(R), positive expiratory pressure and percussion. Respiratory flow rates were measured durin...

A computer technique (cosinor analysis) has been used to evaluate circadian rhythms in airway calibre in normals and asthmatics. Two hundred and twenty-one normal subjects recorded peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) at home four times a day for seven days. Rhythm detection was statistically significant in 145 of them (65.6%) who showed a mean amplitude of 8.3% of individual mean PEFR (+/- SD 5.2%...