A comparative study of Peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) values in Healthy School going Children and Asthmatic Children aged 7 to 12 Years attending Paediatric OP at a Tertiary care Hospital, Eluru

Dr. K.Uma maheswara Rao; Dr .E.C. Vidya Sagar Pydi

Volume : V, Issue : XII, December - 2016

A comparative study of Peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) values in Healthy School going Children and Asthmatic Children aged 7 to 12 Years attending Paediatric OP at a Tertiary care Hospital, Eluru

Dr. K. Uma Maheswara Rao, Dr . E. C. Vidya Sagar Pydi

Abstract :

BACKGROUND:?e present study aims to compare the PEFR of 80 asthmatic children with PEFR of 300 normal school going children of same age ,sex and height. METHODOLOGY:?e study is conducted in 2 groups normal healthy school going children group of 7 to 12 years and asthmatic children group of 7 to 12 years .300 normal healthy school going children are selected from schools in and around Eluru on basis of systematic randomization using Taussig et al³criteria.80 asthmatic children attending pediatric op over one year at tertiary care hospital ,Eluru were selected in the same age group .oral informed consent was taken from parents/guardians in both groups.PEFR readings of asthmatic children were compared with normal healthy school going children of same age ,sex and height. ?e data was analysed using SPSS software and results were obtained. RESULTS: Asthma is more common in younger age groups, in urban areas and male children. Asthma is more common in upper class(45%) and middle upper class(20%) compared with other classes. ?e main risk factors for asthma are family history of asthma, history of smoking habits in the family and personal history of atopy(P Value<0.05 ). ?e association between type of fuel used for cooking and education of parents with asthma is found to be not statistically significant. Most common presenting feature/complaint of asthma is wheeze. ?e main triggering factor for asthma is cold and dust combined followed by dust alone .Majority (48.7%) of cases are intermittent asthma and mild persistent asthma combined, followed by moderate persistent asthma(42.5%),whereas least%(8.7%) of cases are severe persistent asthma. An improvement of PEFR 20– 25% post nebulization is seen most commonly in intermittent asthma and mild persistent asthma(85.2%).An improvement of PEFR 26 to 30% post nebulization is seen most commonly in moderate persistent asthma(54.5%).An improvement of PEFR >31% post nebulization is seen most commonly in moderate persistent asthma(70.8%) followed by severe persistent asthma. CONCLUSION :. Asthma is more common in younger age groups, in urban areas and male children. ?e main risk factors for asthma are family history of asthma, history of smoking habits in the family and personal history of atopy(P Value<0.05 ). Most common presenting feature/complaint of asthma is wheeze. ?e main triggering factor for asthma is cold and dust combined followed by dust alone