BACKGROUND Lower levels of quality asthma care among racially diverse populations might be due to inaccurate disease status assessments. The Asthma Control and Communication Instrument (ACCI) is a new tool that captures patient report of disease status during routine care. OBJECTIVE We sought to test the ACCI's psychometric properties in a racially diverse population. METHODS We performed a...

The aim of the study was to investigate the difference between encouraged self-recorded peak expiratory flow (PEF) with unobserved readings and to investigate any long-term changes in PEF self-recording. Patients were trained in the PEF technique and asked to keep 2-hourly PEF records until the next clinic visit. The patients PEF were then rechecked at the second clinic visit by a series of two...

cromolyn sodium, a mast cell stabilizing agent, provides an immediate protective effect against the exercise-induced bronchoconstriction while being used before the exercise. however, cromolyn is ineffective in reversing asthmatic bronchospasm; it is used as a maintenance therapy and has a prophylactic role in chronic asthma.    the purpose of this study was to determine the extent of change in...

Purpose: To investigate the association of standard measures of frailty to visual acuity and contrast sensitivity. Methods: Time to walk a measured course, handgrip strength, peak expiratory flow rate, ability to stand from a sitting position without using arms, best-corrected visual acuity, and contrast sensitivity were assessed at the third examination (1998-2000) of the Beaver Dam Eye Study....

It has been suggested that the use of a cumulative technique to obtain bronchodilator dose-response curves will cause a greater response than a non-cumulative technique, because sequential doses of drug will penetrate further into the lung. To test this hypothesis we have compared cumulative and non-cumulative dose-response curves for inhaled isoprenaline in 10 subjects with stable asthma, meas...

Forced expiratory volumes and flows (forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) peak expiratory flow (PEF), maximal expiratory flow at 25% (MEF25%), 50% (MEF50%) and 75% (MEF75%) of the FVC) have been measured in 909 healthy nonsmoking men and women, ranging in age from 18-86 yrs, who live on Eastern Adriatic islands (Yugoslavia). This area is essentially free fr...

OBJECTIVE To compare measurements of the peak expiratory flow rate taken by the mini Wright peak flow meter and the turbine spirometer. DESIGN Pragmatic study with randomised order of use of recording instruments. Phase 1 compared a peak expiratory flow type expiration recorded by the mini Wright peak flow meter with an expiration to forced vital capacity recorded by the turbine spirometer. P...

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 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...