[Validity of bronchial flow measurement by Wright's air flowmeter. Comparison with maximal expiratory volume in a...

The validity of measurement of bronchial air flow, using Wright's air flow meter, was studied comparing the maximum air flow thus obtained with the maximum expiratory volume in one second, used as unit of reference. During a first stage, the reproducibility of the test was determined this was excellent, 3.26% for the maximal flow rate and 2.48% for the maximum volume expired in one second. During a second stage were drawn up correlations between the two tests which were very narrow: O.971 in healthy sbjects, 0.919 in sick patients. The Wright flow meter is a strong, reliable and inexpensive instrument and will thus be very useful in the daily assessment of bronchiolar constriction at the bed side, and in the routine detection of obstructive syndromes.