Hepatopulmonary syndrome
My hospital has an active liver transplantation program and all transplant candidates get a full panel of PFTs in my lab. The number of liver transplant candidates we get varies…
My hospital has an active liver transplantation program and all transplant candidates get a full panel of PFTs in my…
27 Dec 2015 December 27, 2015 by Richard Johnston • Leave a comment
The clue was in the O2
One of the overlooked parts of teaching pulmonary function interpretation is developing an appreciation for the number and variety of errors that the equipment, patients and technicians can produce…
One of the overlooked parts of teaching pulmonary function interpretation is developing an appreciation for the number and variety of…
13 Dec 2015 December 13, 2015 by Richard Johnston • Leave a comment
Goiter, upper airway obstruction and the flow-volume loop
The thyroid gland is located across the front of the upper airway a short distance below the larynx. An enlarged thyroid gland is known as a goiter. The most common…
The thyroid gland is located across the front of the upper airway a short distance below the larynx. An enlarged…
6 Dec 2015 December 6, 2015 by Richard Johnston • Leave a comment
The 8 Percent Solution
The current ATS/ERS standards for a positive bronchodilator response are an increase in FEV1 or FVC of ≥ 12% and ≥ 200 ml. These standards are largely based on the…
The current ATS/ERS standards for a positive bronchodilator response are an increase in FEV1 or FVC of ≥ 12% and…
3 Dec 2015 December 3, 2015 by Richard Johnston • Leave a comment
When does it end?
I was reviewing spirometry reports and noticed several patients in a row with an early termination of exhalation that was not reflected in the reported expiratory time. This is far…
I was reviewing spirometry reports and noticed several patients in a row with an early termination of exhalation that was…
11 Oct 2015 October 11, 2015 by Richard Johnston • Leave a comment
Post-BD FVC. It’s about time.
When assessing the response to bronchodilators the change in FEV1 is used far more frequently than any other spirometry result. Other values such as inspiratory capacity (IC) and peak inspiratory…
When assessing the response to bronchodilators the change in FEV1 is used far more frequently than any other spirometry result.…
27 Sep 2015 September 27, 2015 by Richard Johnston • Leave a comment
Helium overshoot, revisited
A while back one of our technicians brought a helium dilution FRC graph to my attention and wanted to know if it showed a system leak. At that time my…
A while back one of our technicians brought a helium dilution FRC graph to my attention and wanted to know…
20 Sep 2015 September 20, 2015 by Richard Johnston • Leave a comment
Adjusting DLCO for hemoglobin
My hospital’s Oncology division treats a number of patients with lymphoma and leukemia. It also has an active bone-marrow transplant program and for all of these patients diffusing capacity m…
My hospital’s Oncology division treats a number of patients with lymphoma and leukemia. It also has an active bone-marrow transplant…
14 Sep 2015 September 14, 2015 by Richard Johnston • Leave a comment
A real fixer-upper
I was reviewing reports today when I ran across one with some glaring errors. There were several things that immediately told me that the reported plethysmographic lung volumes were way…
I was reviewing reports today when I ran across one with some glaring errors. There were several things that immediately…
6 Sep 2015 September 6, 2015 by Richard Johnston • Leave a comment
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