Peak Expiratory Flow Rate Measurement In Children With Bronchial Asthma

Abstract

Background: Contemporary asthma guidelines emphasize patient self-management, wherein peak flow monitoring plays a crucial role. Peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) is defined as the maximum expiratory flow rate following a forceful inspiration and demonstrates correlation with forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) (Gupta et al., 2023) Peak flow monitoring, in asthmatic client, aids in establishing the diagnosis, measure the severity of symptoms, evaluate treatment response, and identify asthma exacerbations.

Materials and Methods: An exploratory study was conducted on 160 children diagnosed with bronchial asthma attending the out-patient department of a pediatric hospital in Mumbai. The PEFR values in the children were measured, compared with the predicted values based on their height and the percentage of lung function impairment was computed. The values were correlated with selected socio- demographic and environmental factors.

Results: The findings provided insight into the demographics and living conditions of the children. The age distribution shows that 44.4% are between 8-10 years, 30.0% are 10-12 years, and 25.6% are 12-15 years old. In terms of gender, 61.9% are male and 38.1% are female. The socio-economic class is predominantly lower middle, with 66.9% of the children falling into this category, while 16.9% are upper lower and 16.3% are upper middle. Regarding their residence, 6.3% live in mansions or bungalows, 39.4% in buildings, 52.5% in chawls, and 1.9% in slums. Most children, 83.8%, have well-ventilated rooms, and 87.5% do not have pets at home. Additionally, 77.5% of the households maintain cleanliness in their house and surroundings. Studyfindings state that PEFR values are directly proportional to the height of children. The lower values of PEFR in asthmatic children reflect the impairment of lung function. The analysis of the association between various factors and peak flow rates revealed that age, gender, socio-economic class, residence, and presence of pets do not significantly associate with PEFR grades, while room ventilation is found to be a significant factor affecting the respiratory health of the children.