Incidence of enterovirus in patients with acute gastroenteritis.

Enteroviruses (EV) have been linked to lymphocytic meningitis and exanthems, but they may also be involved in acute gastroenteritis (AGE), a condition whose aetiological agent often remains unidentified. In this work 1214 samples from individuals with AGE were studied with the aim of establishing the incidence of EV. The samples were collected between September and December in three different years and subjected to real-time genomic amplification in order to determine the viral load (VL). Of the 1214 samples studied, infection by a single virus was found in 328 cases (27%) and coinfection in 69 (5.7%). While adenoviruses (AdV) were the most frequent (14.8% of total), EV were present in 126 (10.4%) of the individuals tested. Of the 126 EV-positive samples, this virus was found as a single infection and coinfection in 76 (6.3%) and 50 (4.1%) cases, respectively. VL for EV was 5.58±1.51 log copies/ml (range 3.73-9.69) in the former and 6.27±1.75 (range 3.73-10.5) (p=0.02) in the latter. EV were identified in 97 children under 5 (16.9%) and in 29 (4.5%) patients over 5. Patients less than 5 years showed a higher VL that those more than 5 years age [6.08±1.57 (range 3.82-9.69) vs. 5.07±1.53 (range 3.73-10.58); (p=0.002)]. There was a high incidence of EV in AGE patients, and they were more frequent in those under 5, where they were found to replicate more efficiently. These results therefore indicate that testing for EV should be included in the diagnosis of AGE.

Rotavirus gastroenteritis hospitalizations in provinces with different vaccination coverage rates in Spain, 2013-2018.

BACKGROUND: Rotavirus (RV) vaccines are available in Spain since 2006 but are not included in the National Immunization Program. RV vaccination has reached an intermediate vaccination coverage rate (VCR) but with substantial differences between provinces. The aim of this study was to assess the ratio of RV gastroenteritis (RVGE) admissions to all-cause hospitalizations in children under 5 years of age in areas with different VCR. METHODS: Observational, multicenter, cross-sectional, medical record-based study. All children admitted to the study hospitals with a RVGE confirmed diagnosis during a 5-year period were selected. The annual ratio of RVGE to the total number of all-cause hospitalizations in children < 5 years of age were calculated. The proportion of RVGE hospitalizations were compared in areas with low (< 30%), intermediate (31-59%) and high (> 60%) VCR. RESULTS: From June 2013 to May 2018, data from 1731 RVGE hospitalizations (16.47% of which were nosocomial) were collected from the 12 study hospitals. RVGE hospital admissions accounted for 2.82% (95 CI 2.72-3.00) and 43.84% (95% CI 40.53-47.21) of all-cause and Acute Gastroenteritis (AGE) hospitalizations in children under 5 years of age, respectively. The likelihood of hospitalization due to RVGE was 56% (IC95%, 51-61%) and 27% (IC95%, 18-35%) lower in areas with high and intermediate VCR, respectively, compared to the low VCR areas. CONCLUSIONS: RVGE hospitalization ratios are highly dependent on the RV VCR. Increasing VCR in areas with intermediate and low coverage rates would significantly reduce the severe burden of RVGE that requires hospital management in Spain. Clinical trial registration Not applicable.

Multilayer perceptron neural network for flow prediction.

Artificial neural networks (ANNs) have proven to be a tool for characterizing, modeling and predicting many of the non-linear hydrological processes such as rainfall-runoff, groundwater evaluation or simulation of water quality. After proper training they are able to generate satisfactory predictive results for many of these processes. In this paper they have been used to predict 1 or 2 days ahead the average and maximum daily flow of a river in a small forest headwaters in northwestern Spain. The inputs used were the flow and climate data (precipitation, temperature, relative humidity, solar radiation and wind speed) as recorded in the basin between 2003 and 2008. Climatic data have been utilized in a disaggregated form by considering each one as an input variable in ANN(1), or in an aggregated form by its use in the calculation of evapotranspiration and using this as input variable in ANN(2). Both ANN(1) and ANN(2), after being trained with the data for the period 2003-2007, have provided a good fit between estimated and observed data, with R(2) values exceeding 0.95. Subsequently, its operation has been verified making use of the data for the year 2008. The correlation coefficients obtained between the data estimated by ANNs and those observed were in all cases superior to 0.85, confirming the capacity of ANNs as a model for predicting average and maximum daily flow 1 or 2 days in advance.

[Serum S100ß protein reference values in a paediatric population]. / Valores de referencia de la proteína S100ß en población pediátrica.

INTRODUCTION: S100ß protein has been proposed as a potential biomarker for both chronic and acute neurological disorders. Reference values of this protein are well defined in adults but not in children, in whom serum levels appear to vary with age. Reference values for serum S100ß in children from 0 to 14 years are presented. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective study was conducted on 257 healthy children, who were divided into three age groups (under 12 months, 12 to 24 months and over 24 months). RESULTS: The study included179 boys and 78 girls, with a mean age of 5.5 (3.75) years. The mean serum concentration of protein S100ß was 0.156 (0.140-0.172) µg/l. In children under 12 months, serum S100ß concentration was 0.350 (0.280-0.421) µg/l; 0.165 (0.139-0.190) µg/l in the group between 12 and 24 months and 0.121 (0.109-0.133) µg/l in children older than 24 months. An inverse relationship was observed between age and serum S100ß, which declines as age increases. No differences were observed between sexes. CONCLUSIONS: The concentration of S100ß remains stable after two years of age, being possible to establish a baseline of S100ß for over two years. During the first two years of life, S100ß serum concentration is higher, the lower the age of the child. No differences in serum S100ß levels between sexes are observed.

[Pulmonary computed tomography in children with cystic fibrosis in Asturias (Spain)]. / Tomografía computarizada pulmonar en niños con fibrosis quística en Asturias.

INTRODUCTION: The advent of computed tomography (CT) has allowed the early detection of pathological changes in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). Description of the early pathological changes and distribution of bronchiectasis in children with CF is limited, because most studies have been performed in older children and adults with well-established lung disease. The aim of this study was to describe the distribution pattern of this disease in Asturius. MATERIAL AND METHOD: We performed a retrospective study of the medical records and CT scans of patients followed up in our Cystic Fibrosis Unit. CT scans were scored by two radiologists according to Bhalla and Nathanson scores. Pathological changes were analyzed and correlated with clinical data and pulmonary function tests. RESULTS: The 41 CT reviewed contained between 10 and 47 slices, with a median of 16. The total number of slices was 758, of which 606 (79.95%) were considered acceptable and 152 were considered unacceptable by the radiologists. The most frequent lesions found were bronchiectasis (78.38%), followed by mucous plugs (37.84%). The most frequently affected bronchopulmonary segments were S1 and S2 in the right lung. Statistically significant correlations were found between Bhalla and Nathanson scores and disease duration. No statistically significant correlations were found between Bhalla and Nathanson scores and pulmonary function tests. CONCLUSIONS: The most frequent lesions in our environment were bronchiectasis followed by mucous plugs. The upper right lobe was the first to be affected, which correlates with findings in most published studies.

Cholesterol: a useful parameter for distinguishing between pleural exudates and transudates.

Previously established criteria were used to classify 253 pleural effusions as transudates (65 cases), neoplastic exudates (67 cases), tuberculous exudates (65 cases), or miscellaneous exudate (56 cases). The parameters pleural LDH (PLDH), pleural LDH/serum LDH ratio (P/SLDH), and pleural protein/serum protein ratio (P/SPROT) were compared with pleural cholesterol (PCHOL) and the pleural cholesterol/serum cholesterol ratio (P/SCHOL) with regard to their usefulness for distinguishing between pleural exudates and transudates. The PCHOL values determined were 28.5 +/- 12.8 mg/dl for transudates, 88.1 +/- 30 mg/dl for neoplastic exudates, 96.5 +/- 28 mg/dl for tuberculous exudates, and 88 +/- 35.9 mg/dl for the miscellaneous group; the differences between the transudate group and the others are statistically significant (p less than 0.001). The sensitivity and specificity of P/SPROT for diagnosis of exudates were both 89 percent; the sensitivity of PLDH was 67 percent and its specificity was 95 percent; the sensitivity and specificity of P/SLDH were both 84.6 percent. Using Light's three criteria as a battery, the sensitivity was 94.6 percent and its specificity was 78.4 percent. All the transudates and 17 (9 percent) of the 188 exudates had PCHOL values below 55 mg/dl, so that with this threshold, PCHOL had a sensitivity of 91 percent and a specificity of 100 percent for diagnosis of exudates. With a threshold of 0.3, P/SCHOL had a sensitivity of 92.5 percent and a specificity of 87.6 percent. The number of misclassifications by PCHOL was less than with any other of the parameters, with statistically significant differences with respect to PLDH (p less than 0.001) and P/SLDH (p less than 0.01). We conclude that determination of PCHOL and P/SCHOL is of great value for distinguishing between pleural exudates and transudates, and should be included in routine laboratory analysis of pleural effusions.

Diagnosis of tuberculous pleurisy using the biologic parameters adenosine deaminase, lysozyme, and interferon gamma.

We compared the parameters pleural adenosine deaminase (PADA, determined in 405 patients), the PADA/serum ADA ratio (P/SADA; 276 cases), pleural lysozyme (PLYS, 276 cases), the PLYS/serum LYS ratio (P/SLYS; 276 cases), and pleural interferon gamma (IFN, 145 cases) regarding their ability to differentiate tuberculous pleural effusions from others. The 405 pleural effusions were classified by previously established criteria as tuberculous (91), neoplastic (110), parapneumonic (58), empyemas (10), transudates (88), or miscellaneous (48). The intermean differences between the tuberculous group and each of the others were statistically significant for all five parameters (p < 0.01 for PLYS and P/SLYS with respect to the empyema group; p < 0.001 otherwise), except for PADA and P/SADA with respect to the empyema group. All the tuberculous pleurisy cases had PADA values of 47 U/L or more, as compared to only 5 percent of the other cases (sensitivity, 100 percent; specificity, 95 percent). P/SADA was above 1.5 in 85.7 percent of tuberculous effusions and 11 percent of the others (sensitivity, 85.7 percent; specificity, 89 percent). PLYS, with a diagnostic threshold of 15 g/ml, had a sensitivity of 85.7 percent and a specificity of 61.6 percent; P/SLYS, with a threshold of 1.1, had a sensitivity of 67.3 percent and a specificity of 90.3 percent; and IFN, with a threshold of 140 pg/ml, had a sensitivity of 94.2 percent and a specificity of 91.8 percent. The lowest misclassification rate was achieved by PADA, with statistically significant differences (p < 0.001) with respect to P/SADA, PLYS, and P/SLYS, but not with respect to IFN. The only significant pairwise correlations among these parameters were between P/SLYS and PADA and between P/SLYS and P/SADA. We conclude that PADA and IFN are useful parameters for early diagnosis of tuberculous pleurisy, and that the other parameters considered have no advantages over PADA and IFN for this purpose (though the high specificity of P/SLYS may be noted).

Snoring and myocardial infarction: a 4-year follow-up study.

The association between snoring and myocardial infarction was studied in 1453 people of both sexes aged 20-70 years. The study was carried out in a population of 92,364 residents and the subjects were recruited using the Electoral Census. A questionnaire was sent to all participants, asking about snoring and cardiovascular risk factors. Hospital records were checked for the next 4 years to establish how many of them developed myocardial infarction. At the beginning of the follow-up study 39 patients were diagnosed with ischaemic heart disease. Of the other 1414 participants, 571 (40.4%) were snorers and 843 (59.6%) non-snorers. Twenty-one developed myocardial infarction in the snorer group and four in the non-snorer group. The snorer group presents an adjusted relative risk of myocardial infarction of 3.08 (95% CI 1.01-9.46) with respect to non-snorers. We conclude that snoring seems to be a potential risk factor for myocardial infarction.

[Compliance with inhalation treatment of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease]. / Estudio de cumplimiento del tratamiento por vía inhalatoria en pacientes con enfermedad pulmonar obstructiva crónica.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate patient compliance with inhaled medication therapy in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), to identify determining factors and to propose corrective measures to improve compliance. METHODS: This was an open, observational, cross-sectional, non-comparative, single-measurement, non-random study. The inhalers were the Serevent Accuhaler, the Serevent Inhalador and the Flixotide Inhaler. Compliance was measured in four ways: a) difference in weight at the beginning and end of the study for all devices; b) dose counter reading for the Accuhaler; c) information from patient diaries (by days and by applications); and d) information from patient interviews using the Morinsky-Green Test. Compliance was rated as follows: poor: < 50%, fair 51%-79%, good 80%-119%, or "hypercompliant" > 120%. RESULTS: Seventy-two patients (mean age 65 years) were enrolled. Compliance measured by weight was good in 77.1%, fair in 11.5%, poor in 1.4% and hypercompliant in 10%. Compliance was good for the Accuhaler according to both weight (75%) and counted doses (83.3%). According to patient diaries, compliance was good when assessed by applications (98.8%) and by days (98.3%). According to the Morinksky-Green test, compliance was good for 87.9%. CONCLUSIONS: Compliance was good as assessed by the methods used in this study. Patients who live in families, who enjoy a high socioeconomic level, have simple therapeutic regimens and have a good understanding of their disease and inhaler tend to have good compliance. Careful patient follow-up and good patient-physician communication has improved compliance. However, follow-up studies are needed to check these results.

[Symptoms of sleep apnea syndrome in the general population]. / Sintomatología del síndrome de apnea del sueño en la población general.

The aim of this study was to determine the clinical features of patients with sleep apnea syndrome (SAS) in the general population. One hundred ten individuals were selected randomly from the census and given hospital appointments. Case histories were taken and complete physical examinations were made. Nighttime respiratory polysomnograms were performed. Twenty-two (20%) of the 110 subjects presented SAS. In the SAS group, 59.1% were habitual snorers and 22.7% reported daytime hypersomnolence. The SAS patients has a mean age of 59.6 +/- 8.8 years and 45.4% showed alterations of the pharynx. No differences in spirometric variables were observed. Only age and daytime hypersomnolence predicted SAS in the multivariate analysis. We conclude that the prevalence of snoring, daytime hypersomnolence, pharyngeal alterations are higher in patients with SAS. The patients are also older. Only age and daytime hypersomnolence predicted of SAS.

[Follow-up of longstanding ventricular septal defects]. / Seguimiento de las comunicaciones interventriculares de larga evolución.

OBJECTIVE: Ventricular septal defect is the most frequently diagnosed congenital heart defect. The prognosis is usually good. The aim of this study was to describe this idea to general pediatricians. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We review the follow-up of 81 patients with ventricular septal defect. Defects that spontaneously closed in the first 12 months of life and those that formed part of a malformative syndrome or a complex congenital heart defect were excluded. RESULTS: Localization was perimembranous, including all defects affecting mainly the septal membrane independent of whether the surrounding tissues were involved, in 66.7 %, muscular in 29.6 % and mixed in 3.7 %. Perimembranous position was more frequent among large and medium-sized defects. Large and perimembranous defects were characterized by holosystolic murmur; in small, muscular defects, murmur was cut off in mid-systole. In 45.8 % of large defects, weight development was delayed, but there was no appreciable effect on height. Generally we observed a tendency to partial closure and to improvement. Surgical closure was required in 9.8 %. CONCLUSIONS: Because of the trend to partial or complete spontaneous closure, the prognosis of ventricular septal defect is generally good.

[Epidemiological study of tuberculosis in the health area of Santiago de Compostella in 1992, 1993 and 1994]. / Estudio epidemiológico de la tuberculosis en el área sanitaria de Santiago de Compostela durante 1992, 1993 y 1994.

An exhaustive search for the clinical records of patients diagnosed with tuberculous disease was done in the hospitals of the area under study, which involves 392,000 population. During the years 1992, 1993 and 1994. There were included: 1) patients who had positive bacilloscopy and/or positive Lowenstein's culture in any specimen: 2) patients younger than 35-years-old who had pleural effusion, significant Mantoux and adenosine deaminase (ADA) over 47 U/I in the pleural effusion. In total 814 patients remained in the study with an average age of 38.39(19.39 DE) in 1992, 39.02 (20.04 DE) in 1993, and 34.1 years-old (19.2 DE) in 1994, with extreme ages of 2 months and 87 years-old. The incidence/100,000 H was: in 1992: 67.86, in 1993: 66.58 and in 1994: 73.2. The contagious forms incidence/100,000 H was: 1.5 in 1992 and 1993; and 1.79 in 1994. The hospital mortality incidence/100,000 H was 2.04 in 1992, 2.30 in 1993 and 2.6 in 1994. We conclude that tuberculosis is endemic in our area with moderately high and stationary incidence.

[Pulmonary diffusion of carbon monoxide in 2 clinical situations: bronchial asthma and diabetes mellitus]. / Estudio de la difusión pulmonar de monóxido de carbono en dos situaciones clínicas: asma bronquial y diabetes mellitus.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of our work has been the study and comparison of diffusion capacity of CO (DLCO) in two different clinical situations: bronchial asthma and diabetes mellitus. METHOD: We have studied 16 control subjects, 38 patients with bronchial asthma and 65 patients with diabetes mellitus. We performed CO pulmonary diffusion tests by single breath method to determine two components: membrane diffusion factor (Dm) and pulmonary capillary blood volume (Vc). RESULTS: We have found a positive correlation of FEV1 with Dm. The bronchial asthma group had a lower FEV1 and FEF25-75% and an increase in DLCO, Dm and Vc, with respect to the control group. The diabetes mellitus group presented a decrease in CVF, FEV1, DLCO and Vc, with respect to the control group. The bronchial asthma group showed a lower ratio of Dm/Vc than the control and diabetes groups. CONCLUSIONS: The bronchial asthma patients have an increase in CO pulmonary diffusion, membrane diffusion factor and pulmonary capillary volume. However, the diabetes mellitus patients present a decrease in CO pulmonary diffusion mainly due to pulmonary capillary volume.

[Non-invasive ventilation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients with acute respiratory hypercapnic failure in a conventional hospital ward]. / Ventilación no invasiva en pacientes con enfermedad pulmonar obstructiva crónica e insuficiencia respiratoria aguda hipercápnica en una sala de hospitalización convencional.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD) subjects in acute hypercapnic failure who were treated with non-invasive mechanical ventilation in a general respiratory ward. METHODS: This was a two-year prospective study of 35 patients with acute exacerbation of COPD and mean FEV1/FVC relation in stable condition of 55.3 +/- 14.8% of predicted that were treated with positive pressure respiration using a facemask in a general respiratory ward. 17 (48.5%) receive long-term oxygen therapy. Analysis was made of blood gases, before and after treatment of non-invasive ventilation, complications, and failure during treatment. RESULTS: A significant improvement in blood gases was observed 24 hours after non-invasive ventilation treatment. The mean hospital stay was of 15.0 +/- 9.1 days and failures were registered in 3 cases (8.5%). Facial scares were the most common complication (13 patients) but it was possible to continue treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Non-invasive ventilation is a viable treatment for patients with chronic obstructive lung disease and acute hypercapnic failure being treated in a general respiratory ward.

[The clinical characteristics of pulmonary tuberculosis in the elderly]. / Características clínicas de la tuberculosis pulmonar en el anciano.

Pulmonary tuberculosis remains as a significant clinical problem in the elderly. To describe age-related differences in disease manifestations, a comparison was made taking in consideration predisposing factors, clinical features, radiographic findings and diagnostic approaches in cases of pulmonary tuberculosis between two groups: equal o higher of 60 years and lower of 60 years. Elderly patients had a higher number of antecedents of previous tuberculosis and underlying diseases than younger patients. At admission, symptoms like fever and hemoptysis were more frequent in the younger group. Radiographic findings revealed that upper lung infiltrates were still common in both groups, and that elderly patients presented less pleural effusions and cavitary lesions than younger patients. Since there were differences in the clinical presentations of pulmonary tuberculosis in the elderly group, a high index of suspicion for the disease should be maintained.

[Sleep apnea syndrome and cardiovascular diseases]. / Síndrome de apnea del sueño y enfermedades cardiovaculares.

The sleep apnea syndrome is a common disease, recognised as a public health problem. Cardiovascular disease is the most frequent cause of morbidity and mortality in these patients, however the underlying mechanisms of this association have not been clearly established. In sleep apnea syndrome different phenomena can be produced which may explain the appearance of cardiovascular problems, such a progressive hypoxia in relationship with the apnea, the increases of intrathoracic pressure cause by the efforts of ventilation system against close upper airway and the modifications of the autonomic nervous system associated with the arousals. In addition, the hypoxia episodes and reoxygenation, which appear in the sleep apnea syndrome, may play a important role in the alteration of the balance between vasoconstriction and vasodilatation substances affecting the vascular homeostasis and conditioning endothelial dysfunction. On the other hand, the increasing of platelets aggregation and the decreased of fibrinolisis in this group of patients may cause vascular diseases.

[Pulmonary diffusion of carbon monoxide in patients with mitral stenosis]. / Estudio de la difusión pulmonar de monóxido de carbono en enfermos con estenosis mitral.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of our work has been the study of CO diffusion capacity in mitral valve stenosis patients. METHOD: We have studied 15 control subjects and 15 patients with mitral valve stenosis. We performed spirometry study and CO pulmonary diffusion tests (DLCO) by single breath method to determine two components: pulmonary capillary blood volume (Vc) and membrane diffusion factor (Dm). In addition, in mitral valve stenosis patients we performed a ecocardiography-doppler study. RESULTS: The mitral valve stenosis group had higher values of DLCO and Vc and a lower ratio of Dm/Vc than the control group. There is a negative correlation between Vc and the mitral valve area (r = -0.63; p = 0.037). We do not find any another correlation between the rest of ecocardiography doppler parameters and lung function test variables that we have measured. We have not found any differences between both groups in Dm. CONCLUSIONS: Mitral valve stenosis patients present a increase of CO pulmonary diffusion capacity and pulmonary capillary blood volume without changes in membrane diffusion factor.

[Respiratory symptoms and lung function in a geriatric population of a Galician rural community: a pilot study]. / Sintomatología respiratoria y función pulmonar en población geriátrica de una comunidad rural gallega: un estudio piloto.

INTRODUCTION: Respiratory diseases are a frequent cause of health demands and have a large impact on morbidity and mortality of the Galician population, especially among the older one. Recent work shows that the diagnosis and treatment of these diseases is not optimal. This increases the utilisation of health care resources. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We studied 28 patients of the municipality of Val del Dubra (Northwest Spain) aged between 65 and 74 years. We performed a spirometric exploration and carried out a questionnaire interview on respiratory symptoms, life style, and occupational and health-related antecedents. RESULTS: Among men, 54% of were or are smokers. None of the women ever smoked. Respiratory symptoms were more frequent among women than among men (80% versus 54%). In the spirometric study, the largest volumes and flux are observed among non-smoking males who do not report dyspnea. DISCUSSION: Respiratory symptoms are frequent in the rural population aged between 65 and 74 years. Tobacco consumption is similar to other Spanish communities, but different from that seen in other countries. Male gender, non-smoking status and absence of respiratory symptoms are associated with higher spirometric figures.

[Most common cardiovascular diseases and sleep apnea syndrome. A general population study]. / Enfermedades cardiovasculares más frecuentes y síndrome de apnea del sueño. Un estudio en población general.

BACKGROUND: The sleep apnea syndrome (SAS) is a frequent disease associated with significant morbidity. The aim of our study was to investigate diseases associated with the sleep apnea syndrome (SAS) in general population. METHODS: We selected a random sample of 110 people from the electoral census. These people were invited to the clinic where medical history, physical examination and monitoring for sleep-disordered breathing was done. RESULTS: Twenty two subjects were diagnosed of SAS. The prevalence of arterial hypertension in the SAS group was 36.4%, and coronary artery disease 13.6%. CONCLUSIONS: Although the prevalence of this diseases was increased in the SAS group, we do not see significant association with this disease.

[Comparative study of the bronchodilator effect of inhaled fenoterol and aerosol salbutamol in patients with chronic bronchial asthma]. / Estudio comparativo del efecto broncodilatador entre fenoterol inhaletas y salbutamol aerosol en pacientes con asma bronquial crónica.

The bronchodilator effects of inhaled fenoterol (FI) and salbutamol aerosol (S) in 15 patients (8 male and 7 female with a median age of 44 +/- 13 years), diagnosed as suffering from asthma, were studied using spirometry (determining FEV1, FEF 25-75% and FVC) and flow volume curves (PEF, MEF 75% and MEF 25%). The mean theroric rate of FEV1, PEF, MEF 75% was defined as the theoric rate of the obstruction of central airways (PCA%) and the mean of FVC, FEF 25-75% and MEF 25% rates defined as the rate of the theoric obstruction of the peripheral airways (PPA%). Basal and 5, 15, 30, 60, 120, 240, 360, 480 minute determinations were done, after the administration of 200 mcg of S in the conventional way on two different days. The statistic study carried out using the "u" test of Mann-Whytney. No statistically significant differences in intensity, onset nor duration of the effect between both drugs were found. We concluded that FI is a drug of great utility in treatment of asthmatic patients and one which allowed, because of the easy inhaling technique, the use of beta 2 adrenergic drugs in a mayor number of patients who would otherwise have to resort to an alternative form of administration.