We conducted a study to measure the peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR), forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) in a group of normal Malay primary school children aged 7 to 12 years. PEFR was measured in 920 children (482 boys and 438 girls) while FVC and FEV1 were measured in 292 of them (168 boys and 124 girls). In agreement with previous studies, we found th...

PURPOSE To determine whether changes in lung function are associated with exercise-related transient abdominal pain (ETAP). METHODS Twenty-eight subjects susceptible to ETAP performed a flow-volume loop before (pre) and after (post) treadmill exercise. Fourteen of the subjects developed symptoms of ETAP during the exercise and completed the flow-volume loop while the pain was present. The rem...

OBJECTIVES Reference values for lung function tests differ in samples from different countries, including values for preschoolers. The main objective of this study was to derive reference values in this population. METHODS A prospective study was conducted through a questionnaire applied to 425 preschool children aged 3 to 6 years, from schools and day-care centers in a metropolitan city in B...

We used meta-analysis to measure the effect of high-altitude climate therapy (HACT) on lung function outcomes in asthma, and systematically searched PubMed, Embase and www.elibrary.ru for publications appearing from 1970 to mid-2015. We included studies carried out with children or adults with an exposure of up to 12 weeks at an altitude of ≥1500 m above sea level. Changes in forced expiratory ...

Patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) often exhale along the same flow-volume curve during quiet breathing as during a forced expiratory vital capacity manoeuvre, and this has been taken as indicating flow limitation at rest. To obtain such curves, a body plethysmograph and the patient's co-operation are required. We propose a simple technique which does not entail t...

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of smoking on teenagers' internal oblique (IO) and transverses abdominis (TrA) expiratory muscles and their pulmonary function. [Subjects] A total of 30 healthy teenagers (15 smokers; 15 nonsmokers) voluntarily participated in the study. [Methods] The subjects were instructed to maintain an upright standing posture with their scapul...

Studies concerning the ability of an inhaled beta2-agonist to produce dose-related bronchodilatation are conflicting. In five asthmatic, five bronchitic, and five normal subjects, specific airway conductance (Gaw/VL), flow-volume curves, and single-breath nitrogen washout were recorded after noncummulative inhalation of 0.65 mg, 1.30 mg, 1.95 mg, and, in some subjects, 2.60 mg of metaproterenol...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy of a 40-mg/kg dose of intravenous magnesium sulfate for moderate to severe asthma exacerbations in pediatric patients. STUDY DESIGN Double-blind placebo-controlled trial. SETTING Two urban tertiary care pediatric emergency departments. SUBJECTS Thirty patients, aged 6 to 17.9 years, being treated for an acute asthma exacerbation. INTERVENTION Eligible ...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the change in respiratory function and functional capacity according to the type of preoperative fasting. METHODS Randomized prospective clinical trial, with 92 female patients undergoing cholecystectomy by laparotomy with conventional or 2 hours shortened fasting. The variables measured were the peak expiratory flow, forced expiratory volume in the first second, forced ...