5 Things To Know About Peak Flow Meters

by Editorial Team | Dec 3, 2020

Over the past few months, we have seen an increase in queries on Peak Flow Meters from clinicians and healthcare professionals.  This may be because, during the current Covid-19 pandemic, patients with asthma and other respiratory conditions are being increasingly managed via virtual or phone consultations and have had to take more responsibility for self-care and management of their condition.

Or this trend may be attributed to the new guidance (supplementary to the British Thoracic Society guidance on Asthma) issued during Covid-19 for adults and children with prior asthma.  The use of Peak Flow meters is recommended only if the clinician is considering discharging the patient home.  The patient will either use their own peak flow meter, or a new sealed peak flow meter for single patient use can be made available.
 

1. What is a Peak Flow Meter?

Peak Flow Meter is a small handheld device that measures a patient’s ‘Peak Expiratory Flow’ or ‘PEF’, a measure of how quickly a patient can forcefully exhale after full inhalation. It is important that patients consult their Clinicians/Specialist Nurses about what their personal best PEF is or should be, to provide a point of reference for tracking.
 

2. Why should Peak Flow be measured?

Upon diagnosis, clinicians should educate patients in self-management of their asthma and chart an Action Plan to also include a Peak Flow Meter.  Patients over five years of age will benefit from regular monitoring of their PEF with a Peak Flow Meter; this determines how open the airways are at any given moment and helps in asthma management.  Clinicians aim to keep patient’s Peak Flow stable ie with little difference between the morning and evening readings and from day to day.  It is a useful patient guide for:

• When to seek emergency medical care
• When to stop or adjust medication
• What triggers the patient’s asthma attacks

3. What should a Normal Value be for Peak Flow?

The ‘Normal Value’ is the best Peak Flow value that a patient can achieve, which is their 100% or ‘reference’ value.  Population normative standards are not clinically useful.  Peak Flow scores are higher when you are well and lower when airways get narrower.

4. How can Medicareplus International help?

Our Medi Peak Flow Meters help asthma patients manage their condition with relative ease with:

• Daily record keeping chart enclosed
• Patented design for easier determination of results
• Coloured tabs to match the Peak Flow score with relevant colour zone of patient’s Action Plan

5. Are there different types of Peak Flow Meters?

Medi Peak Flow Meters are available in both LOW and STANDARD ranges; Low Range are suitable in severely restricted airflow.  They are single patient use and their use is not an aerosol generating procedure (AGP).  Learn more about Medi Peak Flow Meters