introduction: ramadan is the 9th  islamic lunar month during which muslims avoid eating and drinking from sunrise to sunset.  the effect of ramadan intermittent fasting on asthma control is controversial.  the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of ramadan fasting on the spirometric variables and clinical symptoms on well-controlled asthmatic patients during ramadan. material and m...

In this issue of Thorax Kamps et al point out that current guidelines for the management of asthma in children frequently advocate the use of home monitoring of lung function. This is supposed to provide an objective measurement of the status of the child’s asthma that can be used to guide therapy. This situation has come about partly as a “trickle down” from guidelines for managing asthma in a...

OBJECTIVE To determine the success rate and correlates of ambulatory peak expiratory flow (PEF) monitoring in an epidemiologic study. DESIGN An observational survey. SETTING Several communities in California. PARTICIPANTS We studied 1,223 nonsmoking men and women (mean age, 66 years) from an established cohort. OUTCOME MEASURES A standard respiratory symptoms and diagnoses questionnaire...

The value of home monitoring of peak expiratory flow (PEF) as part of an action plan for asthma management in children and young adults is uncertain. We sought to determine whether home recording of PEF benefited asthma management and whether any contribution was affected by the severity of the asthma. Twenty-eight children and young adults with asthma of different severity (mean age 14 yrs; 95...

Electronic spirometers offer the prospect of paperless home monitoring, but data quality is not automatically better than from conventional monitoring. The aim of this study was to determine the extent to which the quality and processing of self-recorded spirometric data from patients with asthma complied with international guidelines for spirometry. Data were from 33 subjects with poorly contr...

T he Wright peak expiratory flow meter was introduced in 1959 and provided a portable piece of equipment for assessing some aspects of lung function in the ambulatory care setting. The original device has been supplanted by the mini Wright peak flow meter (and a range of other devices) which have become relatively cheap but are reasonably reliable for home monitoring. So, with an available devi...

OBJECTIVE To determine the correlates of the lability of peak expiratory flow (PEF) in the elderly. METHODS A community sample of 4,581 persons > or = 65 years old from the Cardiovascular Health Study completed an asthma questionnaire and underwent spirometry. During a follow-up examination of the cohort, 1,836 persons agreed to measure PEF at home twice daily for 2 weeks, and 90% successfull...

BACKGROUND Despite effective treatments, the morbidity and mortality of obstructive airways disease (asthma and COPD) remains high. Home monitoring of peak expiratory flow (PEF) is increasingly being advocated as an aid to better management of obstructive airways disease. The few available studies describing effects of treatment on the level and variation of PEF have involved relatively small n...

Guidelines for asthma management advocate home peak expiratory flow (PEF) monitoring. It is commonly stated that PEF variability is a good proxy of bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR), a hallmark of asthma. However, this has hardly been tested longitudinally, as required to monitor asthma. This study assesses which PEF index correlates best with BHR longitudinally and whether the correlation im...