J Asthma Allergy Clin Immunol.  2002 Sep;22(3):577-583.

Usefulness of measuring peak expiratory flow rate for diagnosing the airway hyperresponsiveness in childhood

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Pediatrics, College of medicine, Pochon CHA University, Sungnam, Korea. drmesh@cha.ac.kr

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Airway hyperresponsiveness has been estimated by means of forced expiratory volume in 1 second(FEV1) through the methacholine inhalation challenge test(MIC). But it is difficult to do the forced expiratory maneuver for measuring FEV1 in children. It is relatively easy to measure peak expiratory flow rate(PEFR) by portable peak expiratory flow meter(PEFM).
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether FEV1 by means of MIC could be appropriately replaced by the measurement of PEFR. METHOD: A total of 30 subjects aged from 7 to 15 years with recurrent cough were enrolled in this study. MIC was performed with stepwise cumulative dose and both FEV1 and PEFR were measured at each step. The study was discontiued at the point of 20% reduction of FEV1 from the baseline value. FEV1 and PEFR were measured after salbutamol was inhaled by nebulizer. RESULT: There were significant correlations with reduction rates(r1=0.59, P<0.05) and recovery rates(r2=0.60, P<0.05) between FEV1 and PEFR, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive and negative predictive value of PEFR(PC20-FEV1 and PC20-PEFR<8 mg/ml) were 63.6, 94.7, 87.8 and 81.8%, respectively(P<0.05).
CONCLUSION
Although PEFR measurement by means of MIC revealed low sensitivity, high specificity and positive predictive value could be obtained. These results indicate that PEFR measurement by means of MIC may be useful for diagnosing the airway hyperresponsiveness in children, although it cannot be replaced completely.

Keyword

peak expiratory flow rate; methacholine inhalation challenge test; airway hyperresponsiveness

MeSH Terms

Albuterol
Child
Cough
Forced Expiratory Volume
Humans
Inhalation
Methacholine Chloride
Nebulizers and Vaporizers
Peak Expiratory Flow Rate*
Sensitivity and Specificity
Albuterol
Methacholine Chloride
Full Text Links
  • JAACI
Actions
Cited
CITED
export Copy
Close
Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
Similar articles
Copyright © 2024 by Korean Association of Medical Journal Editors. All rights reserved.     E-mail: koreamed@kamje.or.kr