Short‐term compliance with peak flow monitoring: Results from a study of inner city children with asthma

The objective of the study was to assess the feasibility of initiating daily peak flow monitoring in a research study of asthma in inner city children. We performed a descriptive study of patterns of peak flow monitoring in children randomized to receive a simple mini‐Wright (SM) or an electronic recording meter (ERM). The ERM served as a “covert” meter, providing objective documentation of actual peak flow use. Sixty‐five Hispanic or African‐American children, ages 5–9 years, with a history of physician‐diagnosed asthma participated in the study. All children resided in census tracts with 40% or more of the population living at or below the poverty level. Subjects were instructed to use a peak flow meter (the SM or ERM) at least twice daily over a 3 week period, and to record peak flow values in a paper diary. Subjects who received the ERM were not made aware that measurements were also recorded electronically. Differences in patterns of use of the SM and ERM were assessed with the Wilcoxon signed rank test and Wilcoxon sum rank test. Adherence to peak flow monitoring was evaluated by comparing the percent days with missing values in the manually completed diary with those obtained by computer record. The Friedman statistic was used to compare changes in compliance (percent of days with missing peak flow entries) over time. Accuracy of peak flow readings was assessed by comparing the manual and electronic recordings with paired and unpaired t‐tests and with Pearson product moment correlations.