Respiratory Muscle Performance in Normal Elderly Subjects and Patients with COPD

We studied the reproducibility of tests of RM performance in normal elderly subjects and compared their performance with that of patients with COPD. The RM strength was measured as MIP and MEP. The RM endurance was measured using a two-minute incremental threshold loading test. The max load, the average Ppk as %MIP at max load and the Pmean at max load were taken as measures of respiratory muscle endurance. The MIP, but not MEP, was less in COPD patients than in normal subjects (p