Publication:

Peak expiratory flow rate in children aged 6 to 14 years

Background The objective of this study was to record the PEFR values in children aged between 6 to 14 years.

Methods A cross sectional study was conducted among 1205 children aged 6 to 14 years in department of paediatrics at a medical college hospital. In a pre-structured questionnaire, the age, sex and PEFR values were recorded. PEFR was considered as primary outcome variable. SPSS version 20 was used for data analysis.

Results Total of 1205 children, 51% were boys and 49% were girls. Ninety children of age 6 years ranged between 60 to 200 with 111.1±29.4 and 7 years ranging from 70 to 210 with 136.3±30.5. One hundred and five of age 8 years had 156.9±33.3 ranging from 90 to 230 and 126 of age 10 years with 195.7±38.8 ranging from 110 to 290. Mean PEFR for boys increased with their age and was greater than girls.

Conclusions The overall mean PEFR values for the age group 6 to 14 years was 225±90.07 l/min. Boys have higher PEFR value than girls of the same age group. Hence, PEFR values in this study can be used clinically as reference value for children aged 6 to 14 years.