ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The peak expiratory flow (PEF) is a clinical tool for the evaluation of flow pulmonary, integrated in many studies and guides for the management of asthma, so it is important to have references about its normal values in healthy children Puebla's city. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We did an observation, descriptive, transversal and prospective study, where we evaluated to 1154 children from Puebla's city and peak expiratory flow measurements were obtained. RESULTS: The mean values by stature and sex for PEF were dispersed in both sex, the average for males were of 286 L/min, females 251 L/min, finding the major average value in males, with Z = 0.6946 level to confidence of 80%, so the PEF was major in males. We compared variations; and the value of the proof of Fisher was 1.12 with a level of confidence of 90%. The lineal regression straight was: males B1 = 5.3 and B0 = -481, females B1 = 4.82, B0 = -436. The correlation between height and peak expiratory flow was: males R2 = 0.8283, females R2 = 0.7652, for the standard mistake it was calculated with the sum of square of mistakes and the number of observations corresponding for males 22.6% and females 20.3%. CONCLUSIONS: The values of healthy children's PEF in Puebla's city are different to other experiences. By first time we have reference values of PEF in healthy children of Puebla's city by sex and height.
