Background: Pregnancy is a state of adaptation in terms of maternal physiology for fulfilling the increasing requirements of developing fetus and pulmonary function tests (PFTs) are a powerful tool in assessing the changes in respiratory functions associated with it.
Objective: To compare the dynamic PFTs in the third trimesters of pregnancy (study group) with the matched nonpregnant women (control group) in Indian population.
Materials and Methods: In this study 65 subjects from a tertiary care hospital of Mumbai who volunteer for the study were divided into two groups consisting of 35 pregnant women (study group) with 30 age and height matched non-pregnant women (control group). PFTs were done by computerized spirometry.
Result: Statistical analysis was carried out and unpaired t-test was applied. The difference in mean values of FEV1/FVC%, PEFR, FEF 25, FEF 50, FEF 75, and FEF 25-75 in normal pregnant women in their third trimester when compared with matched normal nonpregnant women were not statistically significant.
Conclusion: This study highlights the observations that though PFT parameters changes during pregnancy but the maternal respiratory functions overall remains unaffected. The fetal well-being is thus ensured with adaptive changes in maternal respiratory physiology during pregnancy. This knowledge of pulmonary function changes may be helpful in the evaluation of PFT readings in pregnancy.
Key words: Pulmonary function tests, pregnancy, peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR), forced expiratory flow (FEF)
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