Ja. Fiz et al., Analysis of tracheal sounds during forced exhalation in asthma patients and normal subjects - Bronchodilator response effect, CHEST, 116(3), 1999, pp. 633-638
Citations number
17
Categorie Soggetti
Cardiovascular & Respiratory Systems","Cardiovascular & Hematology Research
Purpose: During the past 10 years, the acoustic analysis of breath sounds h
as been used as a diagnostic tool in patients suffering from obstructive re
spiratory diseases. Acoustic analysis might be able to monitor the response
to bronchodilator therapy in a clinical setting. So far, few studies have
been carried out in asthmatic patients. To assess the responses of a sampli
ng of asthma patients to an inhaled bronchodilator (terbutaline) by means o
f spectral analysis of the tracheal sound performed during forced expirator
y maneuvers.
Material and methods: Seventeen nonsmoking asthma patients (9 were male, 8
were female) who had been suffering from the disease for greater than or eq
ual to 15 years were included in the study, as were 15 normal subjects (7 w
ere male, 8 were female). The average age (+/- SD) was 56.5 +/- 15.2 years
(FVC, 2.7 +/- 0.9 L [63.4%]; FEV1, 1.5 +/- 0.6 L [53.0%]). The tracheal sou
nds were collected during three forced expiratory maneuvers with a sampling
frequency of 5,000 Hz and were analyzed by applying a 16-parameter autoreg
ressive model.
Results: The centroid frequency decreased after the bronchodilator was give
n at different flow segments between 1.2 and 0.4 L/s, with significant chan
ges between 0.6 and 0.4 L/s,
Conclusions: Patients with asthma showed changes in the spectral acoustic a
nalysis frequencies after the administration of a bronchodilator drug (terb
utaline) during forced expiratory maneuvers.