To the Editor.—
The question "Who needs these studies?" was asked in the COMMENTARY by Block and Olsen (235:257, 1976).
To the Editor.—
The asthmatic patient should have a careful preoperative evaluation of his status, including pulmonary function tests. Most allergic children have a preoperative evaluation that does not include pulmonary function studies.
To the Editor.—
One of the most important facets in the presurgical evaluation of the allergic child is the evaluation of his pulmonary function on both a quantitative and qualitative basis. There has been considerable discussion on the difficulties of studying pulmonary function in children, but these have been surmounted in many instances by extreme patience in studying little patients.
To the Editor.—
The above information is taken from my book, Surgery and the Allergic Patient (Charles C Thomas Publishers), in a chapter entitled "Presurgical Evaluation of the Allergic Child."