COMPARISON OF PEAK EXPIRATORY FLOW-RATE WITH SPEAKING TIME IN ED PATIENTS PRESENTING WITH ACUTE EXACERBATION OF ASTHMA

Thirty-six patients with a history of asthma who presented to an emerg ency department (ED) with an acute exacerbation were studied prospecti vely to determine if a correlation existed between peak expiratory flo w rate (PEFR) and speaking time. Each patient listened to an instructi onal audiotape an the proper method of counting and then maximally inh aled and counted until it became necessary to take a second breath. Th is represented the patient's ''speaking time'' in seconds. A PEFR was then obtained using a hand held peak flow meter. The speaking time and PEFR were measured before and after each nebulized albuterol treatmen t. A total of 169 pairs of pretreatment and posttreatment PEFR and spe aking time measurements were obtained. Regression analysis of the PEFR and speaking time demonstrated the PEER can be predicted by the speak ing time with statistical significance (P <.0001). The regression anal ysis equation was: peak flow (L/min) = 114.8 + (17.6 x speaking time). (Am J Emerg Med 1998;16:572-575, Copyright (C) 1998 by W.B. Saunders Company).