Recently while reviewing PFT reports I ran across a test from a patient who had been having spirometry, lung volume and DLCO tests performed at regular intervals for the last several years. Compare…

I’ve been reviewing my CPET textbooks trying to get a better idea of how to differentiate between different cardiovascular limitations. The other day I ran across an article on a related subj…

Obesity has become far more commonplace than it was a generation ago. The reasons for this are unclear and have been attributed at one time or another to hormone-mimicking chemicals in our environm…

I thought I was done with lung volume issues for at least a little while but a short time ago I was reviewing a report from another PFT lab and I ran across something that didn’t seem to make…

I was reading James Hansen’s textbook on pulmonary function testing and ran across a spot where he made a minor criticism of the NHANESIII (Hankinson et al) reference equations for the FEV1/F…

My guidelines for interpreting CPETs originally started as notes to myself about what needed to be on the report and what the normal values were. They grew into a more formal set of instructions th…

As workload increases during a progressive cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) there comes a point at which the amount of oxygen delivered to the exercising muscle is no longer able to meet its ne…

Recently I was reviewing test results from another PFT Lab that uses equipment from a different manufacturer than what my lab uses. When I came to the lung volumes it became evident that the FVC ha…

I was reviewing a PFT recently and noticed that the FEV1 was severely reduced and that the FRC and RV were both elevated. This is a pattern we associate with obstructive gas trapping but I’ve…

Two PFT reports came across my desk recently and comparing them got me to thinking about Peak Expiratory Flow (PEF). The FEV1 from both tests were mildly reduced with an FEV1/FVC ratio that was mod…