A study of peak expiratory flow rate in patients attending to a tertiary care hospital

Abstract

Background: Spirometry is a gold standard evaluation tool for determining an individual's lung function. It measures the amount of air inhaled and exhaled by a person in a given amount of time.1 It is useful for detecting obstructive and restrictive airway diseases, quantifying the degree of impairment or severity, assessing prognosis and operative risks, assessing health status prior to enrolment in a rehabilitation program, monitoring the effects of various environmental exposures, and studying the effect of drugs and treatment on pulmonary functioning 2.
Objectives
 To determine the PEFR levels in the study population.
 To find out the PEFR levels in different age groups in the study population.
 To find out the gender wise variations in PEFR levels in the study population.
Material & Methods
Study design: Hospital based prospective cross-sectional study.
Study period: 1 year.
Study population: Patients attending to General Medicine with respiratory symptoms.
Sample size: Study consisted a total of 1200 subjects.
Sampling technique: Simple Random technique.
Inclusion criteria: Individuals who were 15 and above 15 years of age of both genders were included. Study tools and data collection procedure: Weight was measured in kilograms without footwear. Height was measured in centimetres without footwear. Body surface area was determined by DuBois body surface area chart. PEFR was measured using mini wright peak flow meter high range model i.e.;
range from 60-800 L/min. Before the test, the subjects were demonstrated how to use MWPFM correctly. Then three readings were taken in standing position. The gap between each reading was five minutes. Out of the three readings the highest reading was taken as the subjects PEFR value. Instrument mini wright peak flow meter that was used for this study.
Results: The average PEFR in healthy young males (21-40 years) was about 518 ± 53.4 L/min and the least values were for above 50 years age group i.e.; 392 ± 59.5 L/min. In female population, the highest PEFR values were in 21-40 years age group i.e.; 351± 38.9 L/min and the lowest was in the age group above 50 years i.e.; 266 ± 49.7 L/min.
Conclusion: From the present study, it can be concluded that, Gender, age and height were the significant determinants of PEFR in the healthy population group. There is a significant difference of PEFR values in males and females. PEFR shows a linear relationship with height in both males and females. PEFR is a simple yet effective tool for epidemiological surveys as it takes short time to perform
and does not requires electric power and a spot reading can be directly taken from the dial of the instrument.