A randomized, double-blind, crossover trial was designed to compare the acute effects of Combivent and salbutamol on spirometric parameters in patients with moderate to severe asthma. Nineteen patients with a mean baseline forced expiratory volume in 1 sec. (FEV]) less than 65% predicted, were randomized on two separate days to receive two puffs of salbutamol (200 µg) or two puffs of Combiv...

An index obtained from tidal expiration, the ratio of time to peak tidal expiratory flow (tPTEF) to expiratory time (tE), discriminates between groups with and without airflow obstruction in infants and children and correlates with other measurements of airflow obstruction in adults. The aim of this study was to determine whether the diagnosis of airflow obstruction could be made from an analys...

This study examines whether exhausting exercise in cold air induces bronchial obstruction and changes in exhaled [NO] and in exhaled NO output (V'NO). Thus, eight well-trained males performed two incremental exercise tests until exhaustion, followed by 5 min of recovery in temperate (22 degrees C) and cold (-10 degrees C) environments, at random. At -10 degrees C, they were dressed in warm clot...

Background and objective We have explored whether assessing the degree of concavity in the descending limb of the maximum expiratory flow-volume curve enhanced spirometric detection of early small airway disease. Methods We used spirometry records from 890 individuals aged ≥40 years (mean 59 years), recruited for the Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease Australia study. Central and peripheral c...

The factors determining maximum expiratory flow and maximum inspiratory flow of the lung are reviewed with particular reference to a model which compares the lung on forced expiration to a Starling resistor. The theoretical significance of the slope of the expiratory maximum flowvolume curve is discussed. A method of comparing maximum expiratory flow with maximum inspiratory flow at similar lun...

Background An increase in the prevalence of overweight and asthma has been observed. Both conditions affect negatively lung function in adults and children. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of overweight and asthma on lung function in children. Methods We designed a case-control study of healthy and asthmatic subjects nested within an epidemiological asthma prevalence study in ...

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...

The purpose of this study was to determine fixed cut-off points for forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV(1))/FEV(6) and FEV(6) as an alternative for FEV(1)/forced vital capacity (FVC) and FVC in the detection of obstructive and restrictive spirometric patterns, respectively. For the study, a total of 11,676 spirometric examinations, which took place on Caucasian subjects aged between 20-...

We reasoned that if flow limitation plays an important role in lung hyperinflation, then bronchodilatation should be associated with a decrease of functional residual capacity (FRC) only in subjects breathing under conditions of flow limitation. This hypothesis was tested in 33 subjects with chronic airway narrowing due to asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Flow limitation ...

reduction in the forced expiratory volume in one second after exercise was calculated using the pre-exercise value as the baseline value. Statistical significance was calculated with Student's paired t test. The study was approved by the research ethical committee of the Faculty of Medicine, Queen's University, Belfast. The table shows the percentage reduction in forced expiratory volume in one...