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PLOS One logoLink to PLOS One
. 2023 Nov 29;18(11):e0287188. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0287188

Reliability of maximal respiratory nasal pressure tests in healthy young adults

Jackson C C de Lima 1,2,*, Vanessa R Resqueti 1,2, Ana Aline Marcelino 1,2, Jéssica Danielle M da Fonsêca 1,2, Ana Lista Paz 3, Fernando A Lavezzo Dias 4, Matias Otto-Yañez 5, Guilherme A F Fregonezi 1,2
Editor: Emiliano Cè6
PMCID: PMC10686475  PMID: 38019835

Abstract

Introduction

Sniff nasal inspiratory (SNIP) and expiratory pressure (SNEP) may complement the assessment of respiratory muscle strength. Thus, specifying their reliability is relevant to improving the clinical consistency of both tests.

Objective

To assess the reliability of SNIP and SNEP in healthy young adults.

Methods

This cross-sectional study included self-reported healthy aged 18 to 29 years. SNIP was performed using a plug to occlude one nostril, while SNEP was conducted using a facemask. Participants performed 20 SNIP and SNEP maneuvers with 30-second intervals in between. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), standard error of measurement (SEM), and minimum detectable change (MDC) assessed the reliability of SNIP and SNEP. Analyses were conducted between the highest peak pressure and the first reproducible maneuver in men and women.

Results

The total sample comprised 32 participants: 16 men and 16 women. The ICC, SEM, and MDC for SNIP maneuvers were 0.994 (95%CI 0.988 to 0.997), 1.820 cmH2O, and 5.043 cmH2O, respectively. For SNEP, these parameters were 0.950 (95%CI 0.897 to 0.976), 6.03 cmH2O, and 16.716 cmH2O. The SNIP and SNEP in men showed ICC of 0.992 (95%CI 0.977 to 0.997) and 0.877 (95%CI 0.648 to 0.957), SEM of 2.07 and 7.66 cmH2O, and MDC of 5.74 and 21.23 cmH2O. In women, SNIP and SNEP presented ICC of 0.992 (95%CI 0.977 to 0.997) and 0.957 (95%CI 0.878 to 0.985), SEM of 1.15 and 6.11 cmH2O, and MDC of 3.19 and 16.95 cmH2O. Also, 60% of the highest SNIPs occurred among the 11th and 20th maneuvers in men and women. In men, 55% of the highest SNEPs occurred among the 11th and 20th maneuvers; this value was 50% in women.

Conclusion

SNIP and SNEP showed excellent reliability. The reliability of SNIP and SNEP in men was good and excellent, respectively, whereas both tests had excellent reliability in women. Also, women reached the highest peak pressure faster than men in both tests.

Introduction

Non-invasive methods to assess respiratory muscle strength (RMS) emerged in the early 20th century and improved over the decades [1, 2]. Currently, maximum inspiratory (MIP) and expiratory pressure (MEP) assess RMS using mechanical or digital manovacuometers equipped with pressure transducers and connected to an interface (mouthpiece or face mask) [3, 4].

MIP and MEP are reliable and widely used due to their simplicity, practicality, and tolerability. However, performance in these tests may be challenging since they require coordination, collaboration, motivation, integrity of facial muscles, and maintenance of pressure for at least 1.5 seconds [3, 5]. In addition, the variability of MIP and MEP depends if the device used is based on pressure transducers or mechanical gauges [3].

Complementary methods to assess RMS have been developed over the last 20 years [68]. For example, sniff nasal inspiratory pressure (SNIP) measures inspiratory muscle strength using short and sharp maneuvers performed with the nose. Although SNIP is slightly different from MIP, it can be used as a complementary RMS assessment, mainly in patients with the neuromuscular disease [9]. Despite scientific advances, few studies investigated the reliability and number of SNIP maneuvers needed to obtain consistent values. Lofaso et al. [7] determined that ten to twenty maneuvers were enough to achieve reliable results, considering that the learning effect continued after the 10th maneuver.

Regarding the assessment of expiratory muscle strength, Morgan et al. [10] described for the first time a method similar to SNIP, the sniff nasal expiratory force. Subsequently, Ichikawa et al. [11] presented the assessment of sniff nasal expiratory pressure (SNEP). Since the technical development, the MIP and MEP tests differ from that of SNIP and SNEP from the air inlet route, the lung volume where the maneuver is carried out, the duration of the test, and possible muscle activation, therefore reliability cannot be extrapolated between tests. Furthermore, gender could influence SNIP and SNEP results as well as it influences other respiratory variables. Preliminary data, from SNIP and MIP comparison, suggested that both tests should be used for early detection of respiratory muscle weakness to avoid over/under diagnoses [12, 13]. The focus on precision rehabilitation requires that tests for evaluating respiratory muscle function be reliable and reproducible with each other. Tests that have low reliability and reproducibility cannot be presented as an evaluation alternative. This is why it is necessary to establish these values for these evaluations. Nevertheless, the reliability and reproducibility of SNIP and SNEP in adults are still unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the reproducibility and reliability of SNIP and SNEP in healthy young adults.

Methods

Participants

A cross-sectional study was conducted using the following inclusion criteria: (1) healthy individuals of both sexes; (2) age between 18 and 29 years; (3) body mass index between 18.5 and 24.9 Kg/m2; (4) no history of respiratory, neuromuscular, or cardiovascular disease; (5) non-smoker; (6) without flu or cold one week before or during the evaluation; (7) no use of psychotropic medication or muscle relaxants; (8) not pregnant; and (9) forced vital capacity greater than 80% of predicted. [12] Exclusion criteria were (1) MIP or MEP below 80% of predicted values; (2) inability to understand and perform pulmonary function maneuvers; (3) missed one of the RMS tests; (4) nasal congestion; (5) refusal to participate in any stage of the study; and (6) poor data quality. The study was approved by the research ethics committee of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (number 2,631,047) and conducted according to the Declaration of Helsinki. All participants were informed and signed the informed consent form.

Procedures

The clinical history, anthropometric, and pulmonary function data of participants were collected before MRP tests (MIP, MEP, SNIP, and SNEP).

The research protocol consisted of two sequences of assessments, according to simple randomization of tests. For sequence 1, participants performed inspiratory tests (MIP + SNIP1-20) followed by expiratory tests (MEP + SNEP1-20). Between the sequences, 30-minute intervals were provide to subjects. Sequence 2 inverted the order of tests to expiratory tests (MEP + SNEP1-20) followed by performed inspiratory tests (MIP + SNIP1-20). Participants were instructed and trained to perform the maneuvers correctly. Twenty consecutive SNIP and SNEP maneuvers were performed (i.e., SNIP1-20 and SNIP1-20).

Spirometry

Spirometry was performed using the KoKo DigiDoser® (Longmont–USA) with participants sitting comfortably in a chair with a back and armrest. A nose clip was used to prevent the air from escaping through the upper airways during the procedure. Technical procedures followed the American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society [14], and reference values were calculated according to the Brazilian population [15].

MIP and MEP

MIP and MEP were measured using a digital device V.2.0 (NEPEB—LabCare /UFMG, Belo Horizonte—MG, Brazil) connected to a disposable mouthpiece with a small orifice (~ 2 mm) to prevent glottic closure and reduce facial muscle activity. Technical criteria were followed by the European Respiratory Society [3] and the Brazilian Society of Pulmonology and Tisiology [14]. Participants were instructed to perform three to five MIP and MEP maneuvers; three should be acceptable and at least two reproducible [16]. To be considered valid, the maximum value obtained after five tests could not be 10% greater than the three best maneuvers [17]. The results obtained were compared to reference values for the Brazilian population [18].

SNIP and SNEP

SNIP was performed using a nasal plug attached to one of the nostrils and consisted of performing a maximum and rapid inspiratory effort (sniff). The following criteria were used for accepting SNIP maneuvers: highest peak pressure value without leakage, duration of the inspiratory effort up to 500 ms, maneuvers performed from functional residual capacity, peak pressure held for less than 50 ms, and pressure waveform displaying smooth curves [6, 20]. Technical criteria were followed by the European Respiratory Society [3], and reference values were obtained according to Araújo et al. [9].

SNEP was performed using an inflatable face mask (dead space of approximately 150 ml) fixed to the participant through a headgear (Vital Signs, New Jersey, USA). The face mask had two orifices: one to dissipate the pressure generated during the test (2 mm) and another to allow participants to breathe freely before the test and between maneuvers (15 mm). The second orifice was connected to a one-way inspiratory valve during the tests. The test consisted of maximum and rapid expirations (nose-blowing) from functional residual capacity with the mouth closed. The larger orifice was manually occluded during each maneuver and reopened right after the test. Participants were instructed on how to perform each maneuver. Twenty maneuvers of each test were conducted with a 30-second interval in between, and two tests were conducted 15 minutes before the protocol for familiarization.

Statistical analysis

The Shapiro-Wilk test verified data normality. Parametric data were presented as mean and standard deviation (SD) and nonparametric data as a median and interquartile range [25% - 75%]. Paired or unpaired t-test was

performed for parametric variables and the Mann-Whitney test for nonparametric variables. The reliability of SNIP and SNEP was estimated using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) between the highest peak pressure and the first reproducible maneuver.

Test-retest reliability was estimated using a two-way mixed-effects, type single rater, and consistency model based on McGraw and Wong (1996) convention [19]. The formula used was:

MSRMSEMSR+(k1)MSE

where: MSR = mean square for rows; MSW = mean square for residual sources of variance; MSE = mean square for error; MSC = mean square for columns; n = number of subjects; k = number of raters/measurements. The ICC was stratified into low (< 0.5), moderate (between 0.5 and 0.75), good (between 0.75 and 0.90), and excellent (> 0.90) [18]. The standard error of measurement (SEM = SD × √[1 –ICC]) and minimum detectable change (MDC 95% = SEM × 1.96 × √2) were also calculated [1922]. Statistical analyses were performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software version 22.0 (IBM Corporation, Armonk, NY, USA) and GraphPad Prism 8 (GraphPad Software, La Jolla, California, USA). A significance level of 5% (p < 0.05) was used.

The sample size was calculated using the G*Power software version 3.1.9.2 (Heinrich Heine–Universität Düsseldorf) considering the correlation between SNEP and MEP as the main variable and obtained a coefficient of determination (r2) of 0.70 between SNEP and MEP variables, α of 0.001, and power (1 - β) of 0.99 and an effect size of 0.85. The sample size of 14 individuals was estimated, and this number was tripled to cover possible losses, totaling the final sample of 42 subjects.

Results

The sample size of 14 individuals was estimated, and this number was tripled to cover possible losses, totaling the final sample of 42 subjects. Forty-nine participants were recruited, and 17 were excluded. From the exclusion, eight subjects (n = 8) were excluded due to poor pressure signal data quality), one due (n = 1) due low MEP %, six (n = 6) due low SNIP % and one (n = 1) due the value of SNEP time curve up than 500 milliseconds. The final sample consisted of 32 participants (16 men and 16 women) with a median age of 23 years [ranging from 22 to 24]. Fig 1 represents the study flowchart. Anthropometric and spirometric data are presented in Table 1. Mean weight, height, and body mass index were 62 ± 7.4 kg, 1.68 ± 0.07 m, and 21.8 ± 1.7 kg/m2, respectively. The data from age and FVC (%pred.) are considered nonparametric and expressed as median and interquartile range [25% - 75%]. The ICC,SEM and MDC for MIP and MEP was included on supplementary material.

Fig 1. Study flowchart.

Fig 1

Table 1. Anthropometric and spirometric data.

Men (n = 16) Women (n = 16) Total
Age (years) 23.3 [22–24] 23.1 [21–24.7] 23.1 [22–24]
Weight (kg) 65.8 ± 7.1 58.1 ± 5.6* 62 ± 7.4
Height (m) 1.71 ± 0.07 1.65 ± 0.05* 1.68 ± 0.07
BMI (kg/m2) 22.4 ± 1.7 21.2 ± 1.4* 21.8 ± 1.7
FVC (L) 4.8 ± 0.5 3.9 ± 0.4* 4.4 ± 0.6
FVC (%pred.) 90.3 [84.6–97.6] 94.7 [88.1–109.2] * 93.4 [85.5–101.8]
FEV1 (L) 4.05 ± 0.4 3.10 ± 0.3* 3.5 ± 0.6
FEV1 (%pred.) 90.0 ± 8.8 92.0 ± 10.6 91.0 ± 9.6
FEV1/ FVC 0.84 ± 0.05 0.84 ± 0.08 0.84 ± 0.07
MIP (cmH2O) 121.0 ± 21.6 82.2 ± 19.6 101.9 ± 21.4
MEP (cmH2O) 128.6 ± 20.1 100.8 ± 36.7 115.4 ± 28.7
MIP % 88.6 ± 16 82.8 ± 19.2 114.3 ± 19.1
MEP % 87.8 ± 13.8 99.1 ± 32.3 94.7 ± 26.2

Parametric data were presented as mean and standard deviation and nonparametric data as a median and interquartile range [25% - 75%]. Inferential analysis was performed using an unpaired t-test or Mann-Whitney test. *p < 0.05; n—sample size; BMI—body mass index; FEV1—forced expiratory volume in the first second; FVC—forced vital capacity; MIP—maximum inspiratory pressure; MEP—maximum expiratory pressure; kg—kilograms; m–meters; kg/m2 –kilograms by squared meter; L–liters; %pred–percentage of predicted; cmH2O –centimeters of water; %—percentage.

Tables 2 and 3 present the absolute values of the highest and first reproducible maneuvers of SNIPs and SNEP. Relative and absolute frequencies showed that 60% (12 maneuvers) of the highest SNIP values and 55% (11 maneuvers) of the first reproducible occurred among the 11th and 20th maneuvers in men. For SNEP, these values were 55% and 40%, respectively. In women, 60% of the highest SNIP and 55% of the first reproducible maneuvers were also among the 11th and 20th maneuvers. SNEP measurements showed that 50% of the highest peak pressures and 60% of the first reproducible maneuvers were among the 11th and 20th maneuvers.

Table 2. Highest SNIP maneuvers and first reproducible maneuver.

Sample SNIP (n° maneuver) 1st reproducible (n° maneuver) Sample SNIP (n° maneuver) 1st reproducible (n° maneuver)
Men Women
1 149 (07) 141 (09) 17 86 (13) 85 (18)
2 157 (07) 145 (10) 18 105 (18) 102 (14)
3 133 (20) 130 (13) 19 79 (04) 78 (07)
4 141 (09) 138 (12) 20 77 (10) 76 (19)
5 129 (11) 125 (02) 21 102 (08) 97 (05)
6 138 (20) 136 (18) 22 74 (20) 69 (16)
7 93 (14) 84 (20) 23 108 (17) 101 (20)
8 122 (19) 117 (18) 24 92 (19) 86 (15)
9 131 (10) 130 (20) 25 89 (17) 88 (12)
10 84 (20) 77 (18) 26 123 (19) 122 (18)
11 143 (17) 135 (18) 27 82 (18) 79 (20)
12 119 (20) 103 (19) 28 93 (01) 89 (04)
13 91 (19) 87 (10) 29 95 (19) 95 (17)
14 89 (16) 84 (15) 30 93 (20) 89 (15)
15 105 (17) 105 (12) 31 101 (12) 94 (10)
16 135 (16) 129 (10) 32 102 (13) 99 (10)

The absolute pressure in centimeters of water (cmH2O); n°—Number of the maneuver are in parentheses.

Table 3. Highest SNEP and first reproducible maneuver.

Sample SNEP (n° maneuver) 1st reproducible (n° maneuver) Sample SNEP (n° maneuver) 1st reproducible (n° maneuver)
Men Women
1 137 (12) 130 (13) 17 127 (15) 121 (16)
2 173 (18) 140 (19) 18 148 (14) 147 (15)
3 119 (09) 118 (10) 19 92 (02) 91 (07)
4 158 (18) 147 (19) 20 94 (15) 93 (14)
5 155 (19) 117 (04) 21 76 (10) 68 (07)
6 90 (04) 88 (07) 22 87 (07) 79 (19)
7 153 (08) 123 (09) 23 83 (12) 76 (17)
8 122 (18) 114 (11) 24 131 (18) 126 (08)
9 138 (13) 119 (07) 25 92 (02) 79 (16)
10 116 (12) 116 (08) 26 128 (20) 125 (19)
11 105 (16) 102 (15) 27 66 (11) 21 (13)
12 144(15) 144 (16) 28 94 (10) 89 (18)
13 127 (07) 106 (08) 29 115 (19) 112 (18)
14 108 (11) 102 (20) 30 99 (13) 98 (17)
15 131 (14) 128 (12) 31 79 (20) 77 (07)
16 129 (09) 127 (02) 32 102 (10) 99 (19)

The absolute pressure in centimeters of water (cmH2O); n°—Number of the maneuver are in parentheses.

Table 4 presents the reliability among the highest peak pressures and first reproducible maneuvers, stratified by sex. We found excellent reliability of SNIP for men and women (ICC = 0.992); the total sample also showed excellent reliability (ICC = 0.994). The reliability of SNEP was good in men (ICC = 0.877) and excellent in women (ICC = 0.957). The total sample presented an ICC of 0.950. SEM and MDC were low in both tests.

Table 4. Reliability of SNIP, SNEP, MIP and MEP between the highest peak and first reproducible maneuvers.

Men (n = 16) Women (n = 16) Total (n = 32)
SNIP
ICC [95% CI] 0.992 [0.977–0.997] 0.992 [0.977–0.997] 0.994 [0.988–0.997]
SEM (cmH2O) 2.073 1.152 1.820
MDC (cmH2O) 5.747 3.193 5.043
SNEP
ICC [95%CI] 0.877 [0.648–0.957] 0.957 [0.878–0.985] 0.950 [0.997–0.976]
SEM (cmH2O) 7.660 6.115 6.031
MDC (cmH2O) 21.231 16.950 16.716

n–Sample size; ICC—Intraclass correlation coefficient; SEM—Standard error of measurement; MDC—Minimum detectable change; 95% CI—Confidence interval; cmH2O - Centimeters of water

Table 5 shows the coefficient of variation (CV) of the variables SNIP, SNEP, MIP and MEP, stratified by sex. Showing the total sample in all variables moderate CV, less than 30%.

Table 5. Coefficient of variation of SNIP, SNEP, MIP and MEP values.

Men (n = 16) Women (n = 16) Total (n = 32)
SNIP
Mean (cmH2O) 121.6 88.3 103.7
SD (cmH2O) 23.2 12.9 23.3
CV (%) 19.1 14.6 22.5
SNEP
Mean (cmH2O) 131.6 94.9 111.5
SD (cmH2O) 21.8 22.8 26.5
CV (%) 16.6 24 23.8
MIP
Mean (cmH2O) 121 82.2 101.9
SD (cmH2O) 21.7 19.6 25.4
CV (%) 17.9 23.8 24.9
MEP
Mean (cmH2O) 128.6 100.8 115.4
SD (cmH2O) 20.2 33.7 28.7
CV (%) 15.7 33.4 24.9

SD–mean and standard deviation; CV = coefficient of variation; cmH2O - Centimeters of water; %—percentage

Discussion

The reliability of SNIP in adults’ young healthy subjects was high in all contexts, ICC was close to the maximum, and SEM and MDC values were low. SNIP was considered reproducible according to our results. Moreover, SNIP is a widely used test [3, 10, 23], that is recommended to assess individuals with respiratory diseases (e.g., chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and neuromuscular diseases) [24, 26]. Other studies confirmed the good reliability of SNIP for assessing healthy adults [2527] and children aged 8 to 11 years [28].

The reliability of SNEP in young healthy subjects was also good in men and excellent in women. SNEP is a novel method, and its reliability has never been studied. Morgan et al. [10] were the first to describe a nasal expiratory force in individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. In 2015, Ichikawa et al. [11] described the SNEP and showed a moderate correlation between SNEP and MEP; however, they did not assess the reliability or replicability. Unlike these authors, we demonstrated good reliability in men (ICC = 0.877) and excellent in women (ICC = 0.957); SEM and MDC were low and acceptable.

The ideal number of SNIP maneuvers to assess RMS is not a consensus. Lofaso et al. [7] considered that the learning effect could increase SNIP values after ten consecutive maneuvers in children and adults with different neuromuscular and respiratory diseases. The authors observed that the highest SNIP values among the first ten maneuvers were lower than the values of subsequent attempts and concluded that a relevant learning effect occurred after the 10th maneuver. As the learning effect may influence results, we performed 20 maneuvers in each test to obtain acceptable results. This is important mainly for SNEP, which is scarce in the literature and still under methodological development.

Although most studies presented ten maneuvers as sufficient for obtaining satisfactory results, previous studies predicted that more maneuvers could be required [7]. Marcelino et al. [28] concluded that twelve SNIP maneuvers were enough to obtain the highest peak pressure value in children up to 11 years old. They also showed good reliability and reported that 42% of the highest SNIP values were among the 6th and 10th maneuvers; 3% of participants achieved the same performance over 12 maneuvers. Corroborating Lofaso et al. [7] and Marcelino et al. [28], we found that 75% (24 maneuvers) of the highest SNIP values and 69% (22 maneuvers) of the reproducible maneuvers were obtained in the last ten maneuvers. Also, 65% of the highest SNEP values and 62% of the reproducible maneuvers were achieved among the 11th and 20th maneuvers. According to the results, respiratory muscle fatigue did not influence the tests.

Study limitations included the small sample and a possible risk of bias (assessments and data analyses were not blind). The sample used is from healthy adults so thei results cannot be extrapolated directly to the elderly population or people with neuromuscular involvement, however it serves as a precedent for future clinical investigations. Moreover, the sample size was estimated without gender differentiation, and outcome assessments and data analyses were not blinded. Therefore, results must be interpreted with caution, and future studies considering these limitations are needed.

Conclusion

The ICC, SEM, and MDC were high for SNIP and SNEP, indicating their reliability in healthy young adults. The SNIP and SNEP maneuvers are simple and inexpensive, easy to perform, and should be used as complementary to MIP and MEP to improve the diagnosis and monitoring of muscle. In conclusion, following our results we suggest that twenty maneuvers were required to obtain the best results when the test is used for diagnosis and monitoring of muscle weakness in several diseases in which a deficit in respiratory muscle strength is related to the natural history of the disease.

Supporting information

S1 Table. Reliability of MIP and MEP between the highest peak and first reproducible maneuvers.

This is the S1 Table legend n–Sample size; ICC—Intraclass correlation coefficient; SEM—Standard error of measurement; MDC—Minimum detectable change; 95% CI—Confidence interval; cmH2O - Centimeters of water.

(DOCX)

S1 Data. Data froam de Study patients.

This is the S1 Fig legend. No legend.

(XLSX)

Acknowledgments

“The authors thank Provatis Academic Services for providing scientific language translation, revision, and editing.”

Data Availability

An excel data will send.

Funding Statement

This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Brasil (CAPES) – Finance Code 001. GF 316937/2021-5 Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq VR - 305960/2021-0 - Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

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Decision Letter 0

Emiliano Cè

29 Aug 2022

PONE-D-22-15898Reliability of maximal respiratory nasal pressure tests in healthy young adultsPLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Fregonezi,

Thank you for submitting your manuscript to PLOS ONE. After careful consideration, we feel that it has merit but does not fully meet PLOS ONE’s publication criteria as it currently stands. Therefore, we invite you to submit a revised version of the manuscript that addresses the points raised during the review process.

==============================

ACADEMIC EDITOR:Dear Authors,two experts in the field reviewed your manuscript and reported several major methodological issues you should consider while revising the paper.

Please submit your revised manuscript by Oct 13 2022 11:59PM. If you will need more time than this to complete your revisions, please reply to this message or contact the journal office at plosone@plos.org. When you're ready to submit your revision, log on to https://www.editorialmanager.com/pone/ and select the 'Submissions Needing Revision' folder to locate your manuscript file.

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If you would like to make changes to your financial disclosure, please include your updated statement in your cover letter. Guidelines for resubmitting your figure files are available below the reviewer comments at the end of this letter.

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We look forward to receiving your revised manuscript.

Kind regards,

Emiliano Cè

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

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2. Please amend your current ethics statement to address the following concerns:

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Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #1: Partly

Reviewer #2: Yes

**********

2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: Yes

**********

3. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.

Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: Yes

**********

4. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

**********

5. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #1: The scope of the review is interesting, however I have made some remarks regarding this study.

Introduction

Please provide the better rationale for need to research the reliability of the SNAP and SNIP in the context of the existing knowledge on the complementarity of SNIP to MIP in assessment of RMS. The MIP and MEP are reliable and widely used due to their simplicity, practicality, and tolerability. What is common and what differ the methods (SNIP vs. MIP or SNAP vs. MEP).

Sample size and statistic

Did you estimated the total sample size or with differentiation of the gender. The actual and predicted value of MEP in men is different to value in women population.

Did you take into account the potential risk of losing participants in recruiting?

Describe what model and formula of intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) did you used?

Did were calculated coefficient of variation? Please, provide coefficient of variation. To results section.

I have propose to assess the criterion validity, assuming the MEP, MIP as a gold standard assessment methods.

Please extend the tables with the ICC results for 10 to 20 repetitions to see the reliability of the measurements for 10, 11 to 20 repetitions.

Conclusions

Present the practical implication of your results.

You wrote: „Twenty maneuvers were required to obtain the best results without interfering with the performance of each test”. I can’t agree with it, because the results are show only as a mean of 20 repetition.

The limitations of this study are not discussed.

Reviewer #2: This manuscript sought to investigate the reliability and sensitivity of SNIP and SNEP as possible index to evaluate respiratory muscles strength. High to very-high ICC with low SEM% and MDC95% were found for both indexes in both sexes.

The study is on the whole well written and as some potentialities. Introduction is concise and the scope clearly stated. I would only stress better the importance to differentiate the results between women and men. Although I could understand the rationale, I think it would be better specifying it better.

Methods are clearly reported. Just a suggestion: since you are proposing SNIP and SNEP as complementary indexes to assess respiratory muscle force, I would also show the correlations between SNIP and MIP and SNEP and MEP. Moreover, in the statistical analysis section, please provide some more details on the ICC approach used.

Results are clearly reported. Tables are clear.

Discussion: I would strongly stress here that the data are (although encouraging) from a sample of healthy and young participants. This reduce the generatability of the results to an older population or people with neurodegenerative diseases.

**********

6. PLOS authors have the option to publish the peer review history of their article (what does this mean?). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.

If you choose “no”, your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public.

Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review? For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy.

Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: No

**********

[NOTE: If reviewer comments were submitted as an attachment file, they will be attached to this email and accessible via the submission site. Please log into your account, locate the manuscript record, and check for the action link "View Attachments". If this link does not appear, there are no attachment files.]

While revising your submission, please upload your figure files to the Preflight Analysis and Conversion Engine (PACE) digital diagnostic tool, https://pacev2.apexcovantage.com/. PACE helps ensure that figures meet PLOS requirements. To use PACE, you must first register as a user. Registration is free. Then, login and navigate to the UPLOAD tab, where you will find detailed instructions on how to use the tool. If you encounter any issues or have any questions when using PACE, please email PLOS at figures@plos.org. Please note that Supporting Information files do not need this step.

PLoS One. 2023 Nov 29;18(11):e0287188. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0287188.r002

Author response to Decision Letter 0


1 Mar 2023

Dear Prof. Dr. Emiliano Cè

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Natal, February 2022

Subject: Revision and resubmission of Manuscript PONE-D-22-15898

Dear Prof. Dr. Emiliano Cè

Thank you for revising our manuscript. We appreciate the reviewers’ complimentary comments and suggestions. We have revised the manuscript following the recommendations.

Please find attached a point-by-point response to the reviewer’s comments. We hope that you find our answers satisfactory and that the manuscript is now acceptable for publication.

Sincerely,

Prof. Dr. Guilherme Fregonezi

Reviewer #1

Reviewer #1: The scope of the review is interesting; however, I have made some remarks regarding this study.

Introduction

Please provide a better rationale for need to research the reliability of the SNEP and SNIP in the context of the existing knowledge on the complementarity of SNIP to MIP in the assessment of RMS. The MIP and MEP are reliable and widely used due to their simplicity, practicality, and tolerability. What is common and what differs between the methods (SNIP vs. MIP or SNAP vs. MEP)?

Authors: Thank you. The rationale was improved. New information and new references were added. Bellow the text.

“Regarding the assessment of expiratory muscle strength, Morgan et al. [10] described for the first time a method similar to SNIP, the sniff nasal expiratory force. Subsequently, Ichikawa et al. [11] presented the assessment of sniff nasal expiratory pressure (SNEP). Since the technical development, the MIP and MEP tests differ from that of SNIP and SNEP from the air inlet route, the lung volume where the maneuver is carried out, the duration of the test, and possible muscle activation, therefore reliability cannot be extrapolated between tests. Furthermore, gender could influence SNIP and SNEP results as well as it influences other respiratory variables. Preliminary data, from SNIP and MIP comparison, suggested that both tests should be used for early detection of respiratory muscle weakness to avoid over/under diagnoses [12,13]. The focus on precision rehabilitation requires that tests for evaluating respiratory muscle function be reliable and reproducible with each other. Tests that have low reliability and reproducibility cannot be presented as an evaluation alternative. This is why it is necessary to establish these values for these evaluations. Nevertheless, the reliability and reproducibility of SNIP and SNEP are still unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the reproducibility and reliability of SNIP and SNEP in healthy young adults.”

Reviewer #1: Sample size and statistic. Did you estimate the total sample size or with differentiation of the gender? The actual and predicted value of MEP in men is different from to value in the women population.

Authors: Thank you for the observation. No gender differentiation was performed during sample size calculation. Gender is a relevant information for respiratory muscle strength; however, given the scarcity of research on gender differences, we opted to calculate all groups together. Due to the relevance of this information, we included it as a limitation of the study.

“Study limitations included the small sample and a possible risk of bias (assessments and data analyses were not blind). The sample used is healthy adults, so their results cannot be directly extrapolated to the elderly population or people with neuromuscular involvement, but it is useful to leave a baseline precedent. Moreover, sample size was estimated without gender differentiation, and outcome assessments and data analyses were not blinded. Therefore, results must be interpreted with caution, and future studies considering these limitations are needed.”

Reviewer #1: Did you take into account the potential risk of losing participants in recruiting?

Authors: Thank you for the note. We included additional information regarding sample size calculation. Bellow is the new text with additional information.

“Sample size was calculated using the G*Power software version 3.1.9.2 (Heinrich Heine – Universität Düsseldorf) considering the correlation between SNEP and MEP as the main variable and obtained using a coefficient of determination (r2) of 0.70 between SNEP and MEP variables, α of 0.001, and power (1 - β) of 0.99 and an effect size of 0.85. The sample size of 14 individuals was estimated, and this number was tripled to cover possible losses, totaling the final sample of 42 subjects.”

Reviewer #1: Describe what model and formula of intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) you used.

Authors: Thank you for the comment. We have added information about the model used in the statistical analysis section of the manuscript.

“Test-retest reliability was estimated using a two-way mixed-effects, type single rater and consistency model described by McGraw and Wong (1996) convention. The formula used was:

where: MSR = mean square for rows; MSW = mean square for residual sources of variance; MSE = mean square for error; MSC = mean square for columns; n = the number of subjects; k = the number of raters/measurements. The ICC was stratified into low (< 0.5), moderate (between 0.5 and 0.75), good (between 0.75 and 0.90), and excellent (> 0.90)”

Reviewer #1: Did has calculated the coefficient of variation? Please, provide the coefficient of variation. To results section. I have proposed to assess the criterion validity, assuming the MEP, and MIP as a gold standard assessment method.

Authors: We did not calculate the coefficient of variation because the objective of the study was not analysis dispersion. The use of MIP and MEP to assess the criterion validity also was not the objective of the study. Thank you for the suggestion, we will take it into account in the next studies.

Reviewer #1: Please extend the tables with the ICC results for 10 to 20 repetitions to see the reliability of the measurements for 10, 11 to 20 repetitions.

Authors: Thank you for the suggestion. I am not sure we quite understand your suggestion. Table 4 showed the results for the aim os the study which was to analyze the reliability of SNIP and SNEP using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) between the highest peak pressure and the first reproducible maneuver. In table 2 and table 3 is possible to observe the order of the highest maneuver and the first reproducible maneuver.

The results of Tables 2, 3, and 4 were described:

Regarding Tables 2 and 3

“The absolute values of the highest and first reproducible maneuvers of SNIPs and SNEP. Relative and absolute frequencies showed that 60% (12 maneuvers) of the highest SNIP values and 55% (11 maneuvers) of the first reproducible occurred among the 11th and 20th maneuvers in men. For SNEP, these values were 55% and 40%, respectively. In women, 60% of the highest SNIP and 55% of the first reproducible maneuvers were also among the 11th and 20th maneuvers. SNEP measurements showed that 50% of the highest peak pressures and 60% of the first reproducible maneuvers were among the 11th and 20th maneuvers.”

Regarding Table 4

“Table 4 presents the reliability among the highest peak pressures and first reproducible maneuvers stratified by sex. Table 4 shows the excellent reliability of SNIP for men and women (ICC = 0.992); the total sample also showed excellent reliability (ICC = 0.994). The reliability of SNEP was good in men (ICC = 0.877) and excellent in women (ICC = 0.957). The total sample presented an ICC of 0.950. SEM and MDC were low in both tests.”

Reviewer #1: Conclusions. Present the practical implication of your results.

Authors: Thank you for the suggestion. We include the practical implications of our results in the conclusion.

The ICC, SEM, and MDC were high for SNIP and SNEP, indicating their reliability in healthy young adults. The SNIP and SNEP maneuvers are simple and inexpensive, easy to perform, and should be used as complementary to MIP and MEP to improve the diagnosis and monitoring of muscle. In conclusion, following our results we suggest that twenty maneuvers were required to obtain the best results when the test is used for diagnosis and monitoring of muscle weakness in several diseases in which a deficit in respiratory muscle strength is related to the natural history of the disease.

Reviewer #1: You wrote: „Twenty maneuvers were required to obtain the best results without interfering with the performance of each test”. I can’t agree with it, because the results are shown only as a mean of 20 repetitions.

Authors: Thank you for your observation. The conclusion was based on our results:

“We found that 75% (24 maneuvers) of the highest SNIP values and 69% (22 maneuvers) of the reproducible maneuvers were obtained in the last ten maneuvers. Also, 65% of the highest SNEP values and 62% of the reproducible maneuvers were achieved among the 11th and 20th maneuvers. According to results, respiratory muscle fatigue did not influence the tests.”

We add new information to the conclusion to express our results.

“The ICC, SEM, and MDC were high for SNIP and SNEP, indicating their reliability in healthy young adults. The SNIP and SNEP maneuvers are simple and inexpensive, easy to perform, and should be used as complementary to MIP and MEP to improve the diagnosis and monitoring of muscle weakness. In conclusion, following our results we suggest that twenty maneuvers were required to obtain the best results when the test is used diagnosis and monitoring of muscle weakness in several diseases in which a deficit in respiratory muscle strength is related to the natural history of the disease.”

Reviewer #1: The limitations of this study are not discussed.

Authors: Thank you for your suggestion. We have improved the text of the study's limitations. We hope that it covers all the limitations pointed out in the review.

“ Study limitations included the small sample and a possible risk of bias (assessments and data analyses were not blind). The sample used is healthy adults, so their results cannot be directly extrapolated to the elderly population or people with neuromuscular involvement, but it is useful to leave a baseline precedent. Moreover, sample size was estimated without gender differentiation, and outcome assessments and data analyses were not blinded. Therefore, results must be interpreted with caution, and future studies considering these limitations are needed.”

Reviewer #2

This manuscript sought to investigate the reliability and sensitivity of SNIP and SNEP as the possible index to evaluate respiratory muscle strength. High to very-high ICC with low SEM% and MDC95% were found for both indexes in both sexes. The study is on the whole well written and has some potential.

The introduction is concise and the scope is clearly stated. I would only stress better the importance to differentiate the results between women and men. Although I could understand the rationale, I think it would be better to specify it better.

Authors: Thank you for your suggestion. We include a phrase on the rationale to express the importance of gender.

“ Regarding the assessment of expiratory muscle strength, Morgan et al. [10] described for the first time a method similar to SNIP, the sniff nasal expiratory force. Subsequently, Ichikawa et al. [11] presented the assessment of sniff nasal expiratory pressure (SNEP). Since the technical development, the MIP and MEP tests differ from that of SNIP and SNEP from the air inlet route, the lung volume where the maneuver is carried out, the duration of the test, and possible muscle activation, therefore reliability cannot be extrapolated between tests. Furthermore, gender could influence SNIP and SNEP results as well as other respiratory variables. Preliminary data, from SNIP and MIP comparison, suggested that both tests should be used for early detection of respiratory muscle weakness to avoid over/under diagnoses [12,13]. The focus on precision rehabilitation requires that tests for evaluating respiratory muscle function be reliable and reproducible with each other. Tests that have low reliability and reproducibility cannot be presented as an evaluation alternative. This is why it is necessary to establish these values for these evaluations. Nevertheless, the reliability and reproducibility of SNIP and SNEP are still unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the reproducibility and reliability of SNIP and SNEP in healthy young adults.”

Reviewer #2: Methods are reported. Just a suggestion: since you are proposing SNIP and SNEP as complementary indexes to assess respiratory muscle force, I would also show the correlations between SNIP and MIP and SNEP and MEP. Moreover, in the statistical analysis section, please provide some more details on the ICC approach used.

Authors: Thank you for the suggestion. The data from correlation will be included in another manuscript that is now in preparation with greater sample size. We have added information about the model used in the statistical analysis section of the manuscript.

“Test-retest reliability was estimated using a two-way mixed-effects, type single rater and consistency model described by McGraw and Wong (1996) convention. The formula used was:

Where: MSR = mean square for rows; MSW = mean square for residual sources of variance; MSE = mean square for error; MSC = mean square for columns; n = the number of subjects; k = the number of raters/measurements. The ICC was stratified into low (< 0.5), moderate (between 0.5 and 0.75), good (between 0.75 and 0.90), and excellent (> 0.90)”

Reviewer #2: Results are reported. The tables are clear.

Authors: Thank you.

Reviewer #2: Discussion: I would strongly stress here that the data are (although encouraging) from a sample of healthy and young participants. This reduces the generatability of the results to an older population or people with neurodegenerative diseases.

Authors: Thank you. We stress this information in the first paraph of the discussion and, is included in the study limitation text.

“The reliability of SNIP in young healthy subjects was high in all contexts, ICC was close to the maximum, and SEM and MDC values were low. SNIP is reproducible, widely used [3,10,23], and recommended to assess individuals with respiratory diseases (e.g., chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and neuromuscular diseases) [24, 26]. Other studies confirmed the good reliability of SNIP for assessing healthy adults [25, 26] and children aged 8 to 11 years [28].”

“The reliability of SNEP in young healthy subjects was also good in men and excellent in women. SNEP is a novel method, and its reliability has never been studied. Morgan et al. [10] were the first to describe a nasal expiratory force in individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. In 2015, Ichikawa et al. [11] described the SNEP and showed a moderate correlation between SNEP and MEP; however, they did not assess the reliability or replicability. Unlike these authors, we demonstrated good reliability in men (ICC = 0.877) and excellent in women (ICC = 0.957); SEM and MDC were low and acceptable.”

“Study limitations included the small sample and a possible risk of bias (assessments and data analyses were not blind). The sample used is from healthy adults so the results cannot be extrapolated directly to the elderly population or people with neuromuscular involvement, however it serves as a precedent for future clinical investigations. Moreover, the sample size was estimated without gender differentiation and assessments, and data analyses were not blinded. Therefore, results must be interpreted with caution, and future studies considering these limitations are needed.”

Attachment

Submitted filename: Response to Reviewers.docx

Decision Letter 1

Emiliano Cè

27 Mar 2023

PONE-D-22-15898R1Reliability of maximal respiratory nasal pressure tests in healthy young adultsPLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Augusto de Freitas Fregonezi,

Thank you for submitting your manuscript to PLOS ONE. After careful consideration, we feel that it has merit but does not fully meet PLOS ONE’s publication criteria as it currently stands. Therefore, we invite you to submit a revised version of the manuscript that addresses the points raised during the review process. Dear Authors, one expert in the field re-reviewed your manuscript founding several major points you should consider during the revision process.

Please submit your revised manuscript by May 11 2023 11:59PM. If you will need more time than this to complete your revisions, please reply to this message or contact the journal office at plosone@plos.org. When you're ready to submit your revision, log on to https://www.editorialmanager.com/pone/ and select the 'Submissions Needing Revision' folder to locate your manuscript file.

Please include the following items when submitting your revised manuscript:

  • A rebuttal letter that responds to each point raised by the academic editor and reviewer(s). You should upload this letter as a separate file labeled 'Response to Reviewers'.

  • A marked-up copy of your manuscript that highlights changes made to the original version. You should upload this as a separate file labeled 'Revised Manuscript with Track Changes'.

  • An unmarked version of your revised paper without tracked changes. You should upload this as a separate file labeled 'Manuscript'.

If you would like to make changes to your financial disclosure, please include your updated statement in your cover letter. Guidelines for resubmitting your figure files are available below the reviewer comments at the end of this letter.

If applicable, we recommend that you deposit your laboratory protocols in protocols.io to enhance the reproducibility of your results. Protocols.io assigns your protocol its own identifier (DOI) so that it can be cited independently in the future. For instructions see: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/submission-guidelines#loc-laboratory-protocols. Additionally, PLOS ONE offers an option for publishing peer-reviewed Lab Protocol articles, which describe protocols hosted on protocols.io. Read more information on sharing protocols at https://plos.org/protocols?utm_medium=editorial-email&utm_source=authorletters&utm_campaign=protocols.

We look forward to receiving your revised manuscript.

Kind regards,

Emiliano Cè

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

[Note: HTML markup is below. Please do not edit.]

Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. If the authors have adequately addressed your comments raised in a previous round of review and you feel that this manuscript is now acceptable for publication, you may indicate that here to bypass the “Comments to the Author” section, enter your conflict of interest statement in the “Confidential to Editor” section, and submit your "Accept" recommendation.

Reviewer #1: All comments have been addressed

**********

2. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #1: Partly

**********

3. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: No

**********

4. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.

Reviewer #1: Yes

**********

5. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.

Reviewer #1: Yes

**********

6. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #1: For reviewer are some issues not clear describe and required clarification:

1. Procedures

The autors wrote: „The research protocol consisted of two sequences of assessments, according to simple randomization of tests. For sequence 1, participants performed inspiratory tests (MIP + SNIP1-20) followed by expiratory tests (MEP + SNEP1-20) after a 30-minute interval. Sequence 2 inverted the order of tests.”

Is there a 30-minute gap between the inspiration test and the exhalation test? Was this interval between sequence 1 and sequence 2?

2. The authors in response to the review wrote: „ The use of MIP and MEP to assess the criterion validity also was not the objective of the study”.

Please explain which outcomes allow to formulate that conclusion: „The SNIP and SNEP maneuvers are simple and inexpensive, easy to perform, and should be used as complementary to MIP and MEP to improve the diagnosis and monitoring of muscle.

3. In introduction the authors state: Nevertheless, the reliability and reproducibility of SNIP and SNEP are still unknown.

In discussion section the authors wrote: „SNIP is reproducible, widely used [3,10,23], and recommended to assess individuals with respiratory diseases (e.g., chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and neuromuscular diseases) [24, 26}”

4. Results:

Please explain, why 17 participants were excluded from the study.

5. Statistical analysis:

Which data were parametric and which data were nonparametric?

**********

7. PLOS authors have the option to publish the peer review history of their article (what does this mean?). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.

If you choose “no”, your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public.

Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review? For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy.

Reviewer #1: No

**********

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PLoS One. 2023 Nov 29;18(11):e0287188. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0287188.r004

Author response to Decision Letter 1


15 May 2023

Dear Prof. Dr. Emiliano Cè

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Natal, may 2022

Subject: Revision and resubmission of Manuscript PONE-D-22-15898

Dear Prof. Dr. Emiliano Cè

Thank you for revising our manuscript. We appreciate the reviewer's complimentary comments and suggestions. We have revised the manuscript following the recommendations. Please find attached a point-by-point response to the reviewer’s comments. We hope that you find our answers satisfactory and that the manuscript is now acceptable for publication.

Sincerely,

  

Prof. Dr. Guilherme Fregonezi

 Reviewer #1

For reviewer are some issues not clear describe and required clarification:


1. Procedures
The author's wrote: The research protocol consisted of two sequences of assessments, according to simple randomization of tests. For sequence 1, participants performed inspiratory tests (MIP + SNIP1-20) followed by expiratory tests (MEP + SNEP1-20) after a 30-minute interval. Sequence 2 inverted the order of tests.” Is there a 30-minute gap between the inspiration test and the exhalation test? Was this interval between sequence 1 and sequence 2?

Authors: Thank you for your question. Yes, there was a gap between sequences. We add new information to the paragraph to improve the text. Bellow the paragraph as described in the text of the manuscript procedures section:

Procedures

The clinical history, anthropometric, and pulmonary function data of participants were collected before MRP tests (MIP, MEP, SNIP, and SNEP). The research protocol consisted of two sequences of assessments, according to simple randomization of tests. For sequence 1, participants performed inspiratory tests (MIP + SNIP1-20) followed by expiratory tests (MEP + SNEP1-20). Between the sequences, 30-minute intervals was provide to subjects. Sequence 2 inverted the order of tests to expiratory tests (MEP + SNEP1-20) followed by performed inspiratory tests (MIP + SNIP1-20). Participants were instructed and trained to perform the maneuvers correctly. Twenty consecutive SNIP and SNEP maneuvers were performed (i.e., SNIP1-20 and SNIP1-20).

2. The authors in response to the review wrote: “ The use of MIP and MEP to assess the criterion validity also was not the objective of the study”. Please explain which outcomes allow to formulate that conclusion:The SNIP and SNEP maneuvers are simple and inexpensive, easy to perform, and should be used as complementary to MIP and MEP to improve the diagnosis and monitoring of muscle.

Authors: Dear reviewer, thanks for the opportunity to change our manuscript. We made a mistake in the response to the review. We used the MIP and MEP as a gold standard to analyze the criterion validity of SNIP and SNEP. We include in the manuscript one new table, table 5, with information about the coefficient of variation of SNIP, SNEP, MIP, and MEP values. Moreover, we add data in supplementary material with information on ICC, SEM, and MDC to MIP and MEP. The conclusions were formulated based on the results of reliability analyses. Bellow the new table add to the results section of the manuscript.


Table 5 shows the coefficient of variation (CV) of the variables SNIP, SNEP, MIP and MEP, stratified by sex. Showing the total sample in all variables moderate CV, less than 30%.

Table 5. Table 5. Coefficient of variation of SNIP, SNEP, MIP and MEP values.

SD – mean and standard deviation; CV = coefficient of variation; cmH2O - Centimeters of water; % - percentage

3. In introduction the authors state: Nevertheless, the reliability and reproducibility of SNIP and SNEP are still unknown.


In discussion section the authors wrote: „ SNIP is reproducible, widely used [3,10,23], and recommended to assess individuals with respiratory diseases (e.g., chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and neuromuscular diseases) [24, 26}”

Authors: Thanks for your note. We included the word adult in the introduction and discussion sections based on literature information. The phrase in the discussion section was modified during the process of correction and translation into English. We have included the word adult in the introduction and rephrased the sentence in the discussion section. Below is the final version:


Introduction heading:

Nevertheless, the reliability and reproducibility of SNIP and SNEP in adults are still unknown.

Discussion heading:

The reliability of SNIP in adults’ young healthy subjects was high in all contexts, ICC was close to the maximum, and SEM and MDC values were low. SNIP was considered reproducible according to our results. Moreover, SNIP is a widely used test [3,10,23],  that is recommended to assess individuals with respiratory diseases (e.g., chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and neuromuscular diseases) [24, 26]. Other studies confirmed the good reliability of SNIP for assessing healthy adults [25, 26] and children aged 8 to 11 years [28].

4. Results: Please explain, why 17 participants were excluded from the study.

Authors: This information was included in Fig. 1 of the study flowchart and is now also included in the first paragraph of the results sections.

"The sample size of 14 individuals was estimated, and this number was tripled to cover possible losses, totaling the final sample of 42 subjects. Forty-nine participants were recruited, and 17 were excluded. From the exclusion, eight subjects  (n = 8) were excluded due to poor pressure signal  data quality), one due (n = 1) due low MEP %, six (n = 6) due low SNIP % and one (n = 1) due the value of SNEP time curve up than 500 millisecond "


5. Statistical analysis: Which data were parametric and which data were nonparametric?

Authors:Thank you for your question. This information can be found in the footnotes of Table 1. We included this information in the results text section.

Results section first paragraph:

“ The data from age and FVC (%pred.) are considered nonparametric and expressed as median and interquartile range [25% - 75%].”

Footnotes of the table:

"Parametric data were presented as mean and standard deviation and nonparametric data as a median and interquartile range [25% - 75%]."

Attachment

Submitted filename: Response to Reviewers.docx

Decision Letter 2

Emiliano Cè

1 Jun 2023

Reliability of maximal respiratory nasal pressure tests in healthy young adults

PONE-D-22-15898R2

Dear Dr. Fregonezi,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

Within one week, you’ll receive an e-mail detailing the required amendments. When these have been addressed, you’ll receive a formal acceptance letter and your manuscript will be scheduled for publication.

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Kind regards,

Emiliano Cè

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Additional Editor Comments (optional):

Reviewers' comments:

Acceptance letter

Emiliano Cè

20 Jul 2023

PONE-D-22-15898R2

Reliability of maximal respiratory nasal pressure tests in healthy young adults

Dear Dr. Fregonezi:

I'm pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been deemed suitable for publication in PLOS ONE. Congratulations! Your manuscript is now with our production department.

If your institution or institutions have a press office, please let them know about your upcoming paper now to help maximize its impact. If they'll be preparing press materials, please inform our press team within the next 48 hours. Your manuscript will remain under strict press embargo until 2 pm Eastern Time on the date of publication. For more information please contact onepress@plos.org.

If we can help with anything else, please email us at plosone@plos.org.

Thank you for submitting your work to PLOS ONE and supporting open access.

Kind regards,

PLOS ONE Editorial Office Staff

on behalf of

Prof. Emiliano Cè

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Associated Data

    This section collects any data citations, data availability statements, or supplementary materials included in this article.

    Supplementary Materials

    S1 Table. Reliability of MIP and MEP between the highest peak and first reproducible maneuvers.

    This is the S1 Table legend n–Sample size; ICC—Intraclass correlation coefficient; SEM—Standard error of measurement; MDC—Minimum detectable change; 95% CI—Confidence interval; cmH2O - Centimeters of water.

    (DOCX)

    S1 Data. Data froam de Study patients.

    This is the S1 Fig legend. No legend.

    (XLSX)

    Attachment

    Submitted filename: Response to Reviewers.docx

    Attachment

    Submitted filename: Response to Reviewers.docx

    Data Availability Statement

    An excel data will send.


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