title: Relationship between symptoms and objective measures of airway obstruction in asthmatic patients.
abstract: The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between asthma symptoms and the degree of airway obstruction as measured by the forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) in a group of 64 asthmatic patients with clinically stable disease attending a university-based urban asthma clinic. Asthma symptoms did not correlate with the degree of airway obstruction as measured by prebronchodilator PEFR (total asthma symptom score vs PEFR: r = -0.214, p = 0.104, n = 59) and only correlated poorly with prebronchodilator FEV1 (total asthma symptom score vs FEV1: r = -0.256, p = 0.041, n = 64). These results lend support to the recommendation that airway obstruction should be measured objectively when assessing patients with chronic persistent asthma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: C K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Liam
authors.forename: C T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Goh
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Isahak
authors.forename: K H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Wong
mesh_terms: D000280:Administration, Inhalation; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000402:Airway Obstruction / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D001249:Asthma / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001993:Bronchodilator Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D005541:Forced Expiratory Volume / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008296:Malaysia / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010366:Peak Expiratory Flow Rate / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013147:Spirometry; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D001993:Bronchodilator Agents