Quick Reference Material

Wright peak flow meters over-read slightly (approx. 50 l/min) in the midrange (approx. 300 l/min), compared with gold standard measurements. From October 2004, new peak flow meters will have a corrected scale (in yellow to identify them). This will introduce some confusion if old and new meters are mixed indiscriminately. The following page is a conversion chart to be used when rewriting a management plan, based on peak flow measurements, and the patient is converting from an old to a new meter. From Oxford Handbook of Respiratory Medicine by Chapman et al (2004), with permission from Oxford University Press.

New EU scale versus Old Wright scale.