Analysis of forced wheezes in asthma patients

Background: Spirometric parameters can be normal in many stable asthma patients, making a diagnosis difficult at certain times in the course of disease.

Objectives: The present study aims to find differences and similarities in the acoustic characteristics of forced wheezes among asthma patients with and without normal spirometric values.

Methods: Eleven chronic asthma patients (8 men/3 women) with moderate-to-severe airway obstruction (FEV1 48.4%), 9 stable asthma patients (6 males/3 females) with normal spirometry (FEV1 84.0%) and a positive methacholine test and 14 healthy subjects (8/6) were enrolled in the study. A contact sensor was placed on the trachea, and wheezes were detected by a modified Shabtai-Musih algorithm in a time-frequency representation.

Results: More wheezes were recorded in obstructive asthma patients than in stable asthma and control subjects: nonstable asthma 13.6 (13.3), stable asthma 3.5 (3.0) and control subjects 2.5 (2.1). The mean frequency of all wheezes detected was higher in control subjects than in either stable or non-stable asthma patients. The change in the total number of wheezes after terbutaline inhalation was more pronounced in nonstable asthma patients than in stable asthmatics and control subjects.

Conclusions: This study confirms that wheeze recording during forced expiratory maneuvers can be a complementary measure to spirometry to identify asthma patients.