Spirometric reference values for children living in Constantine (Eastern region of Algeria).

BACKGROUND: Spirometry play an important role in diagnosing obstructive lung disease, assessing the severity of lung disease, monitoring treatment of patients with respiratory disorders, and allocating patients to treatment groups in drug intervention studies. Since spirometric lung function depends on body size, age, gender and ethnic group, reference equations derived from healthy individuals are imperative for interpreting results. AIM: To assess the need for spirometric norms for children 5 to 16 years old and living in Constantine (Eastern region of Algeria). METHODS: Anthropometric and spirometric data were measured in 208 healthy children (101 girls) living in Constantine (649 m above sea level). RESULTS: Published reference equations did not reliably predict measured spirometric data in Constantinian children. Combination of gender, age, height, weight, body mass index and body surface area explained between 69% and 94% of the spirometric data variability's. FEV1/FVC ratio [means±SD (5th percentiles) were0.91±0.06 (0.80) for boys and 0.90±0.06 (0.81) for girls] was not included in the regression because of its relative independence of anthropometric data. The mean±SD of the forced expiratory time was 2.44±0.74 s and only 27% of children reached the threshold of ³ 3 s. In an additional group of 24 children prospectively studied, the agreement between measured and predicted FEV1 was satisfactory. CONCLUSION: Our reliable spirometric reference equations provide a useful norm for the care of paediatric patients living in the Eastern region of Algeria. The present study enriches the World Bank of reference equations, from which physicians should choose according to where patients live and their ethnic background.

Prevalence rate of exercise-induced bronchoconstriction in Annaba (Algeria) schoolchildren.

BACKGROUND: We studied the prevalence rate of exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) in Annaba schoolchildren. No previous assessment of this syndrome had ever been done in Algeria. METHODS: EIB was evaluated using the 6 min free running test (6MFRT) on 286 children, 87.4% of whom were 10-12 years old. They performed the test in the morning, during the autumn-winter season. Peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) was measured before, and then 5 and 10 min after the 6MFRT, a 15% or more decrease in post-exercise PEFR being defined as significant. RESULTS: EIB was much more frequent in asthmatic than in nonasthmatic children (47.0% vs. 13.9%, p < .001) and the drop in PEFR was more marked among the former. EIB was observed more often in a cool temperature (<8°C). There were relatively more children who were either eutrophic or overweight among those presenting an EIB. Past histories of nocturnal wheezing and rhinoconjunctivitis presented respectively the best specificity (96.7%) and sensitivity (84.8%). Children of unemployed workers presented the highest occurrence of EIB. Passive smoking appeared as the only factor being related to EIB among the indoor pollutants. The prevalence rate of asthma (6.7%) was higher than in a previous cross-sectional epidemiological survey study performed in the Maghreb. The prevalence rate of EIB (13.9%) was situated in the upper range of the results given worldwide. CONCLUSIONS: These features of a fairly high bronchial hyperresponsiveness could be facilitated by the polluted environment of the city.