Palomma Russelly Saldanha de Araújo, Vanessa Regiane Resqueti,
Jasiel Nascimento Jr, Larissa de Andrade Carvalho, Ana Gabriela Leal Cavalcanti, Viviane Cerezer Silva, Ester Silva, Marlene Aparecida Moreno,
Arméle de Fátima Dornelas de Andrade, Guilherme Augusto de Freitas Fregonezi
J Bras Pneumol.2012;38(6):700-707
Objective: The objectives of this study were to determine reference values for sniff nasal inspiratory pressure (SNIP) and to propose reference equations for the population of Brazil. Methods: We evaluated 243 healthy individuals (111 males and 132 females), between 20 and 80 years of age, with an FVC and FEV1/FVC ratio > 80% and > 85% of the predicted value, respectively. All of the subjects underwent respiratory muscle strength tests to determine MIP, MEP, and SNIP. Results: We found that SNIP values were higher in males than in females (p < 0.05) and that SNIP correlated negatively with age, for males (r = −0.29; p < 0.001) and for females (r = −0.33; p < 0.0001). Linear regression also revealed that age influenced the predicted SNIP, for males (R2 = 0.09) and females (R2 = 0.10). We obtained predicted SNIP values that were higher than those obtained for other populations. Conclusions: We have devised predictive equations for SNIP to be used in adults (20-80 years of age) in Brazil. These equations could help minimize diagnostic discrepancies among individuals.
Keywords: Respiratory Muscles; Respiratory Function Tests; Reference Values; Linear Models.