OBJECTIVE Asthma control has not been formally evaluated in the Caribbean. This study evaluated disease control on The Asthma Control Test (ACT), The Royal College of Physicians "Three questions" for Assessing Asthma Control (RCP), peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) and patients' self-assessment of control. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Asthma control was examined in a cross-section of 205 asthmatics ab...

STUDY OBJECTIVES To determine the intracellular and extracellular Mg concentrations in patients with acute asthma and their correlation with parameters expressing the disease severity. PATIENTS Thirty patients with acute asthma (FEV(1), 56% predicted [SD, 14.5]), 20 patients with stable asthma (FEV(1), 97% predicted [SD, 10]), and 20 healthy subjects (FEV(1), 97% predicted [SD, 8]). METHODS...

OBJECTIVE Wheezing is a widely used physical sign of asthma that physicians assess in evaluation of their asthmatic patients. It may be possible to teach the parents to recognize it and to assess its severity so as to help them make better informed judgment in monitoring their children with asthma. STUDY DESIGN Parents were taught to recognize wheezing by placing their ear over the chest and ...

Salbutamol was given by the intramuscular route to children aged 3 to 16 years with an attack of asthma. Results with a dose of 8 microgram/kg were favourable but suggested that a higher dose might be more so. 16 children thereafter were treated with 20 microgram/kg which produced a greater mean increase in peak expiratory flow rates (PEFR) without increase in side effects. This dose was then u...

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...

Clenbuterol is a beta 2-sympathomimetic bronchodilator. In a double-blind cross-over trial in 19 asthmatic patients with reversible airways obstruction, oral administration of both clenbuterol (40 microgram) and salbutamol (4 mg) caused significantly greater increased in peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) than placebo, that of clenbuterol lasting longer. The patients' subjective assessment also s...

The bronchodilator effect of sodium cromoglycate (SCG) solution was investigated. Twenty asthmatic children aged 6-15 years (mean 11.3) were examined and the action of SCG compared with that of salbutamol and placebo (water). SCG produced a significantly raised peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) before exercise, which reached a maximum immediately after exercise. The bronchodilatation was sustain...

BACKGROUND The objectives of this study were to determine whether cross-shift changes in peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) were related to respirable dust exposure in South African coalminers. METHODS Fifty workers were randomly selected from a cohort of 684 miners from 3 bituminous coalmines in Mpumalanga, South Africa. Peak expiratory efforts were measured prior to the commencement of the sh...

One hundred and sixty two people working in various departments of cotton spinning and weaving mills measured and recorded their own peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) at two hourly intervals during Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday of the same work week, from waking in the morning throughout the day until going to bed and a last time the following morning after waking. The circadian rhythm in PEFR...