A Cheap, Useful but Forgotten Tool for Diagnosing Adult-Onset Asthma: PEF Meter

Mehmet UNLU, MD, Pinar CIMEN, MD

Abstract: Although a detailed medical history including characteristic information on asthma symptoms is the main tool in the diagnosis of asthma, pulmonary function tests are also required to obtain exact diagnosis of this disease. However, delay in diagnosis may arise in some cases of adult-onset asthma, in patients who do not have obvious asthma symptoms when they arrive at the hospital and in cases with normal pulmonary function tests. We describe a case of late onset asthma which was diagnosed lately with the help of PEF meter and had difficulty of diagnosis because of the normal pulmonary function tests.

Keywords: Asthma, adult-onset asthma, diagnosis, PEF meter, spirometry