LF, a 34 year old white male, presented to the emergency room complaining of acute and severe shortness
of breath and intense chest tightness. LF’s speech was choppy and breathing was very rapid and erratic,
punctuated by noticeable wheezing. LF’s medical records included the results of pulmonary function
testing he had undergone six months before
His medical records also indicated prior admission for respiratory symptoms and a history of poorly-
controlled asthma.
LF received high-dose bronchodilator medication through use of a valved holding chamber. This was
followed by intravenous glucocorticoids and nebulized bronchodilators every two hours for a twelve-hour
period, followed by nebulized bronchodilators every four hours for a forty-eight hour period.
After discharge from the hospital, LF was provided a take-home flow meter to monitor his lung function.
Table 4 shows LF’s PEFR results during a 30-day period.
Table 4. Peak flow monitoring from day 1-30 post-discharge. All PEFR values are given in L/min.
| Day | PEFR | Day | PEFR | Day | PEFR | Day | PEFR | Day | PEFR | Day | PEFR |
| 1 | 495 | 6 | 500 | 11 | 493 | 16 | 503 | 21 | 453 | 26 | 483 |
| 2 | 490 | 7 | 493 | 12 | 483 | 17 | 276 | 22 | 468 | 27 | 500 |
| 3 | 500 | 8 | 510 | 13 | 479 | 18 | 255 | 23 | 492 | 28 | 496 |
| 4 | 478 | 9 | 483 | 14 | 488 | 19 | 277 | 24 | 493 | 29 | 488 |
| 5 | 486 | 10 | 492 | 15 | 491 | 20 | 379 | 25 | 487 | 30 | 489 |
Use ONLY the values in Table 4 to graph the following graph using any computer program (labelled properly):
a. LF’s lung function trajectory over 30 days. Use the figure caption to briefly describe any
trends you observe.
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