COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT OF RESPIRATORY MUSCLE STRENGTH IN THOSE WITH ASTHMA, CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE AND COMBINATION OF THESE TWO CONDITIONS

The objective of the study: to compare the strength of respiratory muscle in the patients with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and the combination of these two conditions, to assure the informativeness of the indicators for verification of these diseases.Subjects and methods. In the in-patient unit, 130 patients with a severe course of asthma, COPD and combination of asthma + COPD were examined. The strength expiratory (MEP) and inspiratory (MIP, SNIP) indicators of respiratory muscles were registered using MicroRPM (CareFusion, United Kingdom), their due values were calculated. The logistic regression models were used to assure informativeness of MEP, MIP, and SNIP for verification of certain forms of bronchial obstruction.Results. The reduction in the strength of expiratory and inspiratory muscles was observed in the patients from all groups. Dysfunction of expiratory muscle dominated in asthma patients, while in COPD patients and those with both conditions it was diaphragm dysfunction. The correlation analysis demonstrated the dependence of respiratory muscle strength on the intensity of bronchial obstruction and lung hyperinflation, skeletal muscles mass, body mass index, respiratory discomfort, and functional state of the patients. It was found out that the ratio of MEP/MIP had a high prognostic value and significantly improved the accuracy of the models of stratification of those examined by nosologic groups.Conclusion. Testing respiratory muscle strength makes an informative tool for comprehensive assessment of respiratory functions in patients with different clinical variants of bronchial obstruction