OBJECTIVES: to compare peak and sustained values of PImax and PEmax in a sample of schoolaged children. METHODS: a descriptive observational crosssection analysis. 144 healthy boys and girls between the ages of 7 and 11 were evaluated. An anthropometric assessment was performed and measurements of peak and sustained respiratory muscle strength with the use of a digital manometer. The child chose at random what initial respiratory pressure to hold. The measurement of PImax was taken from total lung capacity and the measurement of PEmax from residual volume. Data was analyzed using SPSS 17.0 and was attributed a significance level of 5%. RESULTS: the following findings were produced bythe study: 78.53 ± 22.53 cmH2O for PIpeak and 72.95 ± 21.22 cmH2O and 86.25 ± 21.8 cmH2O for PIsust and PEsust respectively. The values obtained throughpeak respiratory pressures (PIpeak and PEpeak) were significantly higher than the measurements obtained for sustained respiratory pressures (PIsust and PEsust)regardless of gender or age assessment (p=0.001). CONCLUSIONS: the use of measures in assessing peak maximum respiratory pressure, more easily obtained in clinical practice, may undermine the real measurements of respiratory muscle strength in children between 7 and 11 years of age.
Child; Respiratory muscles; Muscle strength
