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Lung function and asthma symptoms in children: relationships and response to treatment
Author(s) -
Mitra AD,
Ogston S,
Crighton A,
Mukhopadhyay S
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
acta pædiatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/j.1651-2227.2002.tb03328.x
Subject(s) - medicine , asthma , spirometry , morning , lung function , physical therapy , pulmonary function testing , lung volumes , pediatrics , lung
The aim of this study was to determine the relationships between the forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV 1 ), peak expiratory flow (PEF) and asthma symptom scores, as well as their response to treatment, in children with no recent exacerbations of asthma. Asthma symptom scores, FEV 1 and PEF were characterised, and their relationships and changes at follow‐up studied in 64 children (mean age 9.5 y) referred to asthma outpatients. The mean FEV 1 and PEF at the initial clinic visit were 94% of predicted values. At follow‐up, mean FEV 1 and PEF were similar. However, symptom scores (maximum obtainable score for each variable = 3) for exercise, nocturnal cough and morning cough were abnormal at the initial visit (mean ± SD, exercise 1.0 ± 0.7, nocturnal cough 1.7 ± 1.2, morning cough 1.6 ± 1.2) and improved significantly at follow‐up (exercise 0.8 ± 0.7, nocturnal cough 0.9 ± 1.1, morning cough 1.0 ± 1.2) ( p > 0.05). A significant relationship was not observed between lung function and total symptom score, at either the initial or follow‐up clinic visit. Neither FEV 1 nor PEF significantly correlated with individual symptom scores. While symptom control improved, no significant relationships between change in asthma symptom scores and change in FEV 1 and PEF between the initial and follow‐up visits were observed. Conclusion : Clinic (“office”) spirometry, currently performed world‐wide, cannot be uniformly regarded as an indicator of asthma status. In addition to the measurement of lung function, quantitative symptom scoring may be a helpful tool for physicians in the assessment of childhood asthma status.