Asthma Symptoms Do not Predict Spirometry

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2007-01-01
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: Asthma is a disease characterized by variable airflow obstruction, but the measurement of airflow is often omitted in the process of diagnosis and management of the disease.OBJECTIVES: Features of asthma severity and control were examined to determine the extent to which objective measurements, including forced expiratory volume in 1 s and forced expiratory volume in 1 s/forced vital capacity, correlated with other manifestations of the disease.METHODS: Subjects were a consecutive sample of patients with asthma attending a university-based asthma clinic. All subjects underwent routine assessment using a standard questionnaire and spirometry.RESULTS: A total of 500 subjects were included in the present study, and their assessment showed that neither symptoms nor history could predict or be predicted by their measurements of lung function.CONCLUSION: Routine measurement of lung function should be performed on subjects with asthma if normal or near-normal lung function is a desired component of asthma control.
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Robert L Cowie, Margot F Underwood, and Stephen K Field, “Asthma Symptoms Do not Predict Spirometry,” Canadian Respiratory Journal, vol. 14, no. 6, pp. 339-342, 2007. doi:10.1155/2007/816132