title: Clinical assessment of speech correlates well with lung function during induced bronchoconstriction.
abstract: Clinical assessment of asthma often includes a crude assessment of speech, for example whether the patient can speak in full sentences. To date, this statement, despite appearing in national asthma guidelines, has not been related to lung function testing in asthma exacerbation. Seven asthmatics underwent a bronchial challenge and were then recorded reading a standardised text for 1 min. The recordings were played to 88 healthcare professionals who were asked to estimate FEV1% predicted. Health care professionals' estimations showed moderate correlation to FEV1% predicted (rho=0.61 P<0.01). There were no significant differences between professionals grouped by seniority or speciality. Speech can intuitively be estimated by health care professionals with moderate accuracy. This gives an evidence basis for the assessment in speech in acute asthma and may provide a new avenue for monitoring.
authors.affiliation: University of Southampton Faculty of Medicine, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tayler
authors.affiliation: 1] University of Southampton Faculty of Medicine, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton, UK [2] Department of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine, Hunter Medical Research Institute, John Hunter Hospital, The University of Newcastle, New Lambton, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Grainge
authors.affiliation: University of Southampton Faculty of Medicine, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: Kerry
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gove
authors.affiliation: 1] University of Southampton Faculty of Medicine, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton, UK [2] Southampton NIHR Respiratory Biomedical Research Unit, Southampton Centre for Biomedical Research, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Howarth
authors.affiliation: University of Southampton Faculty of Medicine, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Holloway
mesh_terms: D001249:Asthma / Q000503:physiopathology; D016084:Bronchoconstriction / Q000502:physiology*; D005541:Forced Expiratory Volume; D006801:Humans; D013060:Speech