Biomedical subjects

K Battu

Publications and source records attributed to K Battu.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1982

Evaluation of home-monitoring of asthmatic children with the mini-Wright peak flow meter.

The amount of medication required to control asthmatic wheezing varies from patient to patient. While the amount required can be assessed clinically from history and physical examination, an objective measurement to assess the patient's requirements is highly desirable. For this purpose the mini-Wright peak flow meter was used. The patient was shown in the office how to use the meter and then sent home to use the meter three times daily for 2 weeks and record each reading on the chart provided. After 2 weeks the chart and meter were mailed to the office where the patient's readings were compared with normal values. Then the patient's medications could be adjusted if necessary. A study of 55 patients showed that this is a very valuable method to assist the practicing physician in prescribing sufficient medication for adequate control, particularly in those patients who minimize their symptoms, either intentionally or unintentionally, so that the physician cannot make an adequate judgment. It was also very useful for convincing the parents or patients that continuous medication is necessary in many cases where they felt PRN medication to be sufficient. The use of this instrument should become a routine part of the management of all difficult asthmatic patients.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1981

Death from asthma.

The factors associated with the deaths of 31 asthma patients were examined. The subjects, whose deaths occurred in the period 1967 through 1979, had all received some care at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, but only nine died there. The greatest single cause of death was the inappropriate use of beta-agonists, with or without the concurrent use of epinephrine. In seven patients an asthma attack that occurred outside hospital progressed so rapidly that there was insufficient time for them to obtain adequate therapy. In five cases the assessment of the patient's condition or the therapy recommended by the attending physician appeared to have been inadequate. Two patients suffered an acute attack in hopital and did not respond to treatment that appeared to have been adequate. In six cases the available information was insufficient to indicate the cause of death. Over half (18) of the deaths occurred in teenagers. Various ways of preventing death from asthma are discussed, including better education of physicians and patients, adequate management of factors that provoke bronchospasm, sufficient follow-up -- especially in teenagers -- and the use of approaches with teenagers that encourage better compliance.

Acute Disease↗