EXPIRATORY FLOW RATES DETERMINED BY WEDGE AND WATER SPIROMETER IN CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS

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Abstract
SUMMARY: A comparison between measurements made with a conventional water spirometer and those with a wedge spirometer on 82 healthy normal subjects from 6 to 18 years of age and from 111.5 to 176.5 cm in height was made. Fourteen children with symptomatic asthma were also studied. It was found that the FVC and FEV1 were similar on both instruments. The values for V̇50 and MMEF were different, because V̇50 is an instantaneous measurement, whereas MMEF is a mean obtained over a wide range of lung volumes.It is suggested that V̇50 may be a more sensitive index of airway obstruction than the regular MMEF measurement.