Category pftblog

Recently a CPET report for an individual whose primary complaint was tachycardia and DOE with minimal activity came across my desk. Since the patient had had an pneumonectomy (one lung removed) abo…

When I review the results from a CPET I am used to considering a maximum minute ventilation (Ve) greater than 85% of predicted as an indication of a pulmonary mechanical limitation. Recently a CPET…

As New Year’s Day approaches it is a tradition for people look back to see what has happened during the last year and then look forward and guess what will happen during the next year. I̵…

Around 20 years ago I had to write the emergency evacuation plan for the pulmonary function lab. Like many other administrative duties I learned that I needed to do this when my new administrator a…

The March 1, 2014 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine had an article on the use of the Lung Clearance Index (LCI) with bronchiectasis. The study showed that the …

Closing Volume (CV) is a measurement made from a single-breath nitrogen washout (SBNW) test. It was commonly performed decades ago and elevated values were considered to be an indication of small a…

In 1844 John Hutchinson published his first paper describing his spirometer and his research on the Vital Capacity. He was the first person to use the word “spirometer” to describe his instrument a…

I was reviewing a pre- and post-bronchodilator spirometry report that showed a relatively large increase in FVC but the change in FEV1 was not significant. It’s not impossible for a patient t…

The current ATS/ERS guidelines require that an individual have a post-bronchodilator increase in FEV1 or FVC of at least 12% and 200 ml in order for it to be considered a significant response. Nume…

Patients with COPD often have a ventilatory limitation as their primary limitation to exercise. A ventilatory limitation to exercise has traditionally been assessed by the breathing index or the br…