A Study On Single Breath Count Among School Going Children And Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Study.
Description
Background: Single Breath Count (SBC) is a technique of measuring pulmonary function. By using SBC, one can measure the individual’s capacity in respect of duration (time) he/she can count using a normal speaking voice after single maximal effort inhalation. The count is in cadence form to "Metronome Beats" which is a Mobile Phone Based application which is set at 2 beats per second. SBC considered as a useful tool in order to assess the pulmonary function in case of children and emergency as well. Purpose: To best of our knowledge, there is scarcity of literature published available to enlighten the normal value of SBC among school going children and adolescents. So, there is a definite need to estimate normative data for SBC in school going children and adolescents which can be used to predict various chest related indications as early intervention and preventions can be instituted. To evaluate the normal reference value of SBC among school going children and adolescents aged between 5-17 years. Material and Methods: Three hundred ninety healthy school going children & adolescents aged between 5-17 years were taken for the study. Simple Random sampling method was used for the study. Children with neurological deficiency and respiratory conditions were excluded. Demographic data of participants were recorded prior then SBC was taken by using a mobile phone based application “Metronome Beats” which is set at 2 beats per second. Procedure was explained to the participants by instructor. Three attempts were recorded from every participants and the best one is taken for the analysis. Results: The result findings of the total 390 participants were expressed in terms of mean ± standard deviation as the data follows normal distribution. The data were expressed as Mean ± SD. Mean ± SD value for single breath count is 27.49 ± 10.31 with median value 26 and IQR range 19, 32. As the p value found less than 0.05. So, we concluded that the result is statistically significant. Conclusion: SBC reference value among school going children and adolescents age between 5–17 years have been reported. Mean value for SBC is 27.49 with median value of 26 and IQR range 19, 32. Keyword: Adolescents; Children; Mobile; Phone