Abstract
Four cases of severely asthmatic children aged 9 to 15 were studied with the aid of peak flow monitoring during inhalation of Beclomethasone Dipropionate Inhaler (BDI; 100μg×2/day) which was regularly administered for six weeks.
The study examined asthmatic symptoms, peak expiratory flow rate (PEF) and diurnal variation in PEF, which means (maximum-minimum)×100/maximum.
1) Although PEF and asthmatic symptoms, varied from case to case, diurnal variation in PEF was increased in every case. The indication for BDI should be based on an integration of such information obtained from peak flow monitoring with asthmatic symptoms.
2) The response of PEF to BDI was different for each case. However, peak flow monitoring could detect an overdosage or an underdosage.
3) It is thus concluded that peak flow monitoring is useful to determine the indication for or the effect of BDI and to control the dosage.
