Relationship between aerobic fitness clinical indicators of asthma severy in children

ABSTRACT

In order to assess the relationship between the physsical fitness of asthmatics and the clinical expression of the underlying disease, the authors studied 39 physically active children with moderate to severe but stable asthma.The patients (25 boys and 14 girls, aged between 9 and 16 years) were submitted to clinical evaluation; spirometry before and after bronchodilator (BD); maximal cardiopulmonary exercise test in cycle ergometer with breath-by-breath analysis of ventilatory and gas exchange variables; and, on a separate day, an exercise challenge test. s expected by the clinical stability, FEV1 post-BD was in the normaal range in most of the children (mean ñ SD= 93.8 ñ 13.7por cento predicted). Maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) was higher thann the lower 95por cento confidence interval in 31/39 children; and in 29/39, the oxygen uptake at the anaerobic threshold (VO2AT) showed values above the lower limit of normality.