A study was performed to determine whether prediction equations issued by the European Community for Steel and Coal (ECSC) and the European Respiratory Society (ERS) fit spirometric data in young adult males. The study comprised 246 randomly selected Dutch conscripts, who participated in the study on the basis of informed consent. A questionnaire was used to assess respiratory symptoms and smok...

BACKGROUND Inhaled steroids are widely used in the treatment of mild to moderate asthma. However, long term compliance with inhaled steroids is poor and administration of a single daily dose may improve compliance. METHODS A double blind, randomised study was performed to determine whether inhaled steroids given once daily at bedtime are as efficacious as a twice daily regimen in the long ter...

BACKGROUND Recent evidence suggests that the frequency response requirements for peak expiratory flow (PEF) meters are higher than was first thought and that the American Thoracic Society (ATS) waveforms to test PEF meters may not be adequate for the purpose. METHODS The dynamic response of mini-Wright (MW), Vitalograph (V), TruZone (TZ), MultiSpiro (MS) and pneumotachograph (PT) flow meters ...

BACKGROUND Gastroesophageal reflux disease occurs frequently among patients with asthma. Therapy with proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) to improve asthma control remains controversial. We sought to evaluate the efficacy of PPIs in treatment of asthma using objective and subjective outcome measures. METHODS A literature search was undertaken using MEDLINE (1950-January 2010), PubMed (1950-January ...

We have previously demonstrated a 10% reduction in peak expiratory flow (PEF) in healthy adults following a breathhold at total lung capacity (TLC). This fall was attributed to dissipation of airway wall viscoelasticity, increasing airway wall compliance (Caw). To investigate this phenomenon in children and to determine whether the effect of breathhold would be greater in asthmatics than in nor...

Results Thirty patients (17 male, 56.7%) with a median age of 11.5 (8.7-13.6) years were included. 12 patients (40%) had mild allergic rhinitis, whereas 18 (60%) had moderate-persistent allergic rhinitis interfering with daily activities. There was no significant difference at spirometric parameters including forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume at 1 second (FEV1) and FEV1/FVC ...

Background—In general practice airway obstruction and the bronchodilator response are usually assessed using peak expiratory flow (PEF) measurements. A study was carried out in patients presenting with persistent cough to investigate to what extent PEF measurements are reliable when compared with tests using forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) as the measure of response. Methods—Data ...

Peak expiratory flow (PEF) variability can be considered as an index of bronchial lability. Population studies on PEF variability are few. The purpose of the current paper is to describe the distribution of PEF variability in a random population sample of adults with a wide age range (20-70 yrs), and to assess relationships to age, gender and smoking habits. PEF data were collected in 511 parti...

BACKGROUND We compared spontaneous and positive-pressure ventilation in patients undergoing general anaesthesia for the treatment of extrathoracic, intralumenal laryngotracheal stenosis to assess the best method of ventilation in this patient group. METHODS Records of 30 patients with laryngotracheal stenosis, but not with a tracheostomy, undergoing lumen-restoring surgery were prospectively ...