Nayla Tariq Chaudry, Imrana Ihsan, Sabiha Nasreen.
Bronchial asthma.
Professional Med J Jan ;12(3):327-30.

To study and compare the Pulmonary Function Tests (PFTs) in middle-aged non-smoker, non-asthmatic males with non-smoker mild asthmatics. 2) To provide a scientific basis for choice of herbal medicines as bronchodilator for asthmatic patients by standardized PFTs. Setting: Punjab Postgraduate Medical Institute (PGMI), Lahore, Out-Patient Departments of Services Hospital and Asthma Clinic Mayo Hospital, Lahore. Patients & Methods: Forty male nonsmokers between 30 - 60 years of age, equally divided into control & mild asthmatic groups. PFTs were carried out with Body Plethysmograph (Model 2.2 PK Morgan, UK) before 1 & after administration of the herbal medicine. The baseline value of Forced Expiratory Volume in first second (FEV ) was used as an index for sub-clinical hyper-responsive behavior of asthmatic group. Reversibility was defined as 1 improvement in FEV of 15% or more from baseline after intake of the bronchodilator. Spirometric and volume related parameters were measured. The response of asthmatic group was compared with control group before and after intake 1 of Adhatoda Vasica. Results: There was a statistically significant difference (p<0.05) in the baseline values of FEV , 1 FEV %, Forced Expiratory Flow 25~75% (FEF 25~75%), Peak Expiratory Flow Rate (PEFR), Thoracic Gas Volume (TGV), Total Lung Capacity (TLC) and Airway Resistance (Raw) amongst asthmatic and control groups. Whereas the 1 difference became non-significant (p>0.05) after the intake of herbal medicine except for FEV which showed a 1 significant difference (p<0.05). The post-bronchodilator percent change in FEV was highly significantly (p<0.01) correlated with percent changes in FVC, PEFR, TGV, TLC and Raw. Conclusion: This study reveals that flow rates and static lung volumes are helpful in assessing reversibility in airway obstruction after intake of bronchodilators.

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