Pulmonary function in asthmatic children during thalassotherapy.

In 39 asthmatic children, 5-14 years of age, sent to the Kinderkurheim Satteldüne for a 6 week course of thalassotherapy, the following pulmonary function studies were tested serially: Vital capacity (VC), one-second forced expiratory volume (FEV1), maximal mid-expiratory flow rate (MMFR) and peak flow rate (PFR). Results expressed as mean values per week of the group as a whole, showed subnormal results at initial testing in all 4 parameters measured. Improvement followed rapidly with the final level generally achieved during week 2. However, statistical analysis showed the differences between the initial and each of the subsequent values to be insignificant with one exception in the FEV1 values. Thus the clinical improvement observed in most patients during thalassotherapy could not be substantiated by pulmonary function tests.