Home recording of peak expiratory flow rates and perception of asthma

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Pulmonology
• Respiratory Medicine
• Asthma Management

Background:

• Accurate perception of airway obstruction is crucial for effective asthma management in children.
• Previous studies suggest potential benefits of home monitoring, but evidence for improved perception is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate if regular home peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) monitoring improves asthmatic children's perception of airway obstruction.
• To assess the accuracy of both children's and parents' perception of asthma severity.
• To determine if a four-week PEFR recording period enhances predictive accuracy.

Main Methods:

• Fourteen children (aged 7.9-18.0 years) with asthma recorded PEFR three times daily for four weeks.
• Pulmonary function tests and subjective severity scores were measured pre- and post-monitoring.
• Parental perception of child's airway obstruction was also evaluated.

Main Results:

• Children with asthma could not accurately predict their level of airway obstruction.
• No significant improvement in perception accuracy was observed after the four-week monitoring period.
• Parents' perceptions of their children's airway obstruction were also found to be inaccurate.

Conclusions:

• Home PEFR monitoring for four weeks did not enhance asthmatic children's perception of their airway obstruction.
• Objective, continuous lung function measurements using an inexpensive peak flowmeter are essential for rational asthma management.
• Current subjective assessments by children and parents are unreliable indicators of asthma severity.