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EDITORIAL |
| PEF measurements |
Dipartimento di Medicina Interna e Specialità Mediche, Università di Genova, Viale Benedetto XV 10, 16132 Genoa, Italy; Vito.Brusasco@unige.it
Keywords: peak expiratory flow; peak flow meters
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
In this issue of Thorax Miller et al1 present a new method for validation of peak flow meters. They show that applying a computer driven explosive decompression can detect inaccuracies in the dynamic response of commercially available peak flow meters that would be missed using the ATS recommended 26 waveforms for spirometer validation. This work is justified by the compelling recommendations to use peak expiratory flow (PEF) as a main or sole measure of lung function, incorporated in the current guidelines for diagnosis and management of asthma.25 In particular, PEF is recommended for daily home monitoring and also as a criterion for admission and discharge from the emergency room. For either application, accuracy of measurement is an obvious prerequisite. Indeed, previous works have shown that commercially available peak flow meters may not be accurate enough to allow correct management of a number of asthmatic subjects.6,7 As Miller et
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