Change in peak expiratory flow rate after the head-tilt/chin-lift maneuver among young, healthy, and conscious volunteers.

Objective: The head-tilt/chin-lift (HT/CL) is a simple, routinely used maneuver to open the upper airway. Changes in the peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) before and after the HT/CL maneuver have not been evaluated among conscious volunteers who are regarded as a control cohort.

Methods: Sixty healthy 20-year-old volunteers (30 males and 30 females) were enrolled. The supine position was defined as the position at which the ear-eye line was at a 10° angle to the horizontal. The HT/CL position was defined as the position at which the ear-eye line was at a 25° angle to the horizontal. PEFR was measured using a hand-held device with the subject in the supine position (pre-PEFR) and HT/CL position (post-PEFR), respectively. One set was defined as these two measurements. Five sets of measurements were performed on each subject (300 sets). The set with the maximal and minimal difference between pre-PEFR and post-PEFR were excluded from the analysis. We used a paired t-test to compare the mean pre-PEFR and post-PEFR values for the entire group and subgroups divided by sex, height, body weight, body mass index and response status.

Results: Overall, 360 measurements (180 sets) were analyzed. The mean pre-PEFR and post-PEFR were 316.1±87.6 and 346.5±94.7 L/min, respectively. Further, significant differences were observed for sex, height, body weight, and body mass index. In 10 subjects, post-PEFR was lower than pre-PEFR.

Conclusion: PEFR increased by 9.6% after the HT/CL maneuver in young conscious subjects, but some subjects showed decreased PEFR after the HT/CL maneuver.