Clinical applicability of peak expiratory flow measured with peak flow metre compared to spirometer in a resource-limited setting

Background: Peak Expiratory Flow (PEF) is the maximum flow produced during a forced expiration following a full inspiration. It is useful in the  management of lung diseases especially the domiciliary assessment of disease control in patients with Asthma. PEF can be measured with either a peak  flow meter or a spirometer. We aimed at comparing PEF measured using a Mini Wright peak flow meter with PEF measured using Spirolab III spirometer  in order to assess its clinical applicability in resource-limited settings.Method: A method-comparison study with records of PEF values at the Niger-Delta University Teaching Hospital, Okolobiri. Hypotheses were formulated  and tested after data was analyzed using the IBM SPSS version 25 software.Results: PEF readings of a total of 100 adults were analyzed. Mean age was 48.90 ± 19.77 years. Males (51%) were slightly more than females (49%). One-  sample t-test showed no statistical difference in the mean PEF values measured with the two devices (p = 0.295). There was significant correlation  between the PEF values measured with the two devices (p<0.0001) with demonstration of agreement and absence of proportional bias in the PEF values measured by the two methods following linear regression analysis (p = 0.959).Conclusion: PEF values obtained from the Mini wright PEF meter and the Spirolab III spirometer are comparable. Therefore, the Mini Wright peakflow  meter may be effectively used in the diagnosis and monitoring of Asthma and other lung diseases in resource-limited settings.