Article Sidebar
Published:
Jul 19, 2016Article Details
Copyright remains in the Author’s name. The work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - Noncommercial Works License. Authors are required to complete and sign an Author Agreement form that outlines Author and Publisher rights and terms of publication. The Agreement form should be uploaded along with other submissions files and any submission will be considered incomplete without it [forthcoming].
Material submitted for publication in the SAMJ is accepted provided it has not been published or submitted for publication elsewhere. Please inform the editorial team if the main findings of your paper have been presented at a conference and published in abstract form, to avoid copyright infringement. The SAMJ does not hold itself responsible for statements made by the authors.
Previously published images
If an image/figure has been previously published, permission to reproduce or alter it must be obtained by the authors from the original publisher and the figure legend must give full credit to the original source. This credit should be accompanied by a letter indicating that permission to reproduce the image has been granted to the author/s. This letter should be uploaded as a supplementary file during submission.
Main Article Content
Effect of the whistle watch device on bronchodilator use in children with asthma
Abstract
Objective. To determine if the use of the whistle watch (WW), a simple device to monitor peak flow rate, affects the use of bronchodilators at home.
Study design. Prospective, randomised, crossover design.
Setting. The asthma outpatients' clinic at Coronation Hospital, a tertiary care centre in Johannesburg.
Patients and methods. Children between 6 and 18 years of age with moderate or severe asthma for more than a year were enrolled. They were randomised into two groups, with bronchodilator use determined either by the WW or solely by the patient's perceived symptomatology. The patients acted as their own controls, switching over to the other group after 30 days. Eighty patients were enrolled into the study.
Results. Forty-three patients completed the study (54%). There were no significant differences between these patients and those who did not complete the study in terms of sex, age and treatment characteristics. There was a significant reduction in the mean monthly number of bronchodilator doses used by the WW group (5.5 doses v. 16.81 doses, paired t-test, t = 3.64, P < 0.001, 95% confidence interval (CI) 6.1 - 16.55). The change in individual participants varied between 13 extra bronchodilator doses and 71 fewer doses per month with the use of the WW device.
Conclusion. The WW device is a cheap, easy-to-use and effective tool that reduces the number of bronchodilator doses used by asthmatic children at home.
