Spirometry for diagnosis and therapeutic efficacy evaluation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in primary care

Abstract

Spirometry is the principal method of diagnosis and evaluation of severity and therapeutic efficacy in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). According to the current definition of this disease the main pathophysiological sign of COPD is persistent and generally progres sive airflow limitation. This article will reviews common spirometric parameters used for COPD diagnosis and a diagnostic value of FEV1 / FVC ratio used in absolute values or as the lower limit of its normal range. Spirometry allows detecting pulmonary hyperinflation, particularly using the inspi ratory capacity; this possibility is very important but is not widely applied. This is a probable reason of COPD underestimation and late diagnosis. Underestimation of COPD is thought to be due to low spirometry implementation in primary care practice as majority of COPD patients seek med ical care in the advanced disease when pulmonary function has already been lost significantly. A great problem for wide implementation of spirom etry in general practice is difficulty to learn adequate spirometric testing and interpretation of test results. Notwithstanding a new integral assessment of COPD underlying the current COPD classification spirometric parameters (FEV1 < 50 %pred.) often are the leading criteria to predict a high risk of future exacerbations. Recent data have been demonstrated that early spirometric diagnosis of COPD in primary care is the most effective strate gy providing more sufficient therapy results.

Вплив Запальних Цитокінів На Перебіг Хронічного Обструктивного Захворювання Легень

“…Традиційно діагностика і визначення тяжкості перебігу захворювання опирається на дані спірометрії [5]. Керуючись показником об'єму форсованого видиху за першу секунду (ОФВ 1 ), що є «золотим стандартом» у діагностиці ХОЗЛ, ми маємо можливість контролювати перебіг захворювання.…”