RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Short term effects of aerobic training in the clinical management of moderate to severe asthma in children
JF Thorax
JO Thorax
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and British Thoracic Society
SP 202
OP 206
DO 10.1136/thx.54.3.202
VO 54
IS 3
A1 J Alberto Neder
A1 Luiz E Nery
A1 Antônio C Silva
A1 Anna L B Cabral
A1 Ana L G Fernandes
YR 1999
UL http://thorax.bmj.com/content/54/3/202.abstract
AB BACKGROUND Aerobic training has a number of well known beneficial effects in both normal and asthmatic children. However, the impact of training on the clinical management of the underlying bronchial asthma remains controversial, particularly in the most severe patients.METHODS Clinical evaluation, spirometric tests, symptom limited maximum exercise testing, and exercise challenge tests were performed in a group of children with stable moderate to severe asthma. Forty two patients (24 boys) aged 8–16 were evaluated twice: before and after supervised aerobic training (group 1, n = 26) and two months apart (untrained group 2, n = 16).RESULTS Spirometric and maximal exercise variables in the initial evaluation were significantly reduced in group 1 (p<0.05) but medication and clinical scores and the occurrence of exercise induced bronchospasm (EIB) did not differ between the two groups. Aerobic improvement with training (maximal oxygen uptake and/or anaerobic threshold increment >10% and 100 ml) was inversely related to the baseline level of fitness and was independent of disease severity. Although the clinical score and the occurrence of EIB did not change after training, aerobic improvement was associated with a significant reduction in the medication score and the daily use of both inhaled and oral steroids (p<0.05).CONCLUSIONS Aerobic improvement with training in less fit asthmatic children is related to a short term decrease in the daily use of inhaled and oral steroids, independent of the severity of the disease.