@Dechi I used to order these and read them all the time. I liked exercise physiology, so it made sense to me.i’ve had a spirometry done last december. I just got them and haven’t spoken to my doc yet, so I am unsure whether there is a problem or not.
Does anybody know how to interpret this ? @Gingergrrl I know you were interested in those.
I didn’t take my asthma meds 48 hours prior, but I didn’t need them anyways. My asthma is occasional, not constant. Being out of breath is an everyday thing, and not related to asthma. It’s a different kind, which I hope shows on these resukts that I can’t interpret myself.
I wasn’t tested post meds, but it wouldn’t have made a difference, I didn’t have asthma that day.
We did them mostly in office to assess asthmatics during a flare/bronchitis and after treatment of brochitis/ flu to see if continued therapy was needed.
OR... To see if the asthma was improving with age ( childhood asthmas). Or getting worse with time though the patient didn't think it was. Or clearly related to a trigger ( during a cold only, after exercise only, etc)
(I haven't don't them for 20 years.. just a disclaimer.)
A lot of the interpretation of Pulmonary Function Tests depends on your age, size, conditioning and other factors ( known lung damage, history of Asthma, chest wall defects, smoking, etc).
That usually gets programmed in beforehand.
You probably know the main thing they're looking at in asthma is your FEV1. Below 75% generally means some active asthma.
If testing to diagnose the possibility of Asthma, FEV1/FVC should be normal- that's how big a breath you can possibly take, compared to how much and how far you can blow it out.
Yours is a little low- could be effort that day or a small amount of Asthma that lingers around that you aren't aware of.
Best to ask the Dr who ordered it, since he knows why he had you do it- what he's looking for.
Without meds or illness...?... I suppose they are looking for how well you are doing compared to a past test, or if you need meds changed or added ( why would they test you without meds anyway? It's generally done pre-inhaler then post-inhaler... See those pre and post columns?)
Anyway, isolated restrictive disease is a different problem from asthma. It indicates some external compression or " restriction" of otherwise normal functioning lungs-the air gets in and out, just not the amount there should be for age, size, conditioning.
It can be a chest deformity ( that's what mine shows) , scar tissue or inflammation around the outside of the lungs , a muscle problem like in ALS... Not a problem within the lungs themselves.
In restrictive The FEV1 can be normal but the TLV or FVC is lower than expected .
Obstructive is anything that makes forcing air out normally, reduced/difficult. It can be mucus plugs, asbestosis, the spasm of the small airways in asthma, or lung damage from many things.
The Lung volume TLV can be normal ( typically in Asthma) but the ability to FORCE the majority of the air out in 1 second is reduced ( that's FEV1).
COPD, lung surgery, miners lung, can be both obstructive and restrictive but that's another topic.
You have excellent lung volume.
Your ability to FORCE the air out is somewhat reduced, but without knowing what else was going on that day, it's hard to say if it is really good for you, average for you, etc.
Were you recovering from a cough or cold? Did you come down with one the next day? Were you inhaling dust recently? Smoke?
About the best from an isolated test with no other history is, you have normal lung capacity, and moving air is maybe hindered a bit by either effort, or a bit of Asthma.
The flow rates have more to do with other complex states, like COPD, Asthma recovering from pneumonia or smoke inhalation, worsening of muscle diseases like ALS.
They're scientific but don't have a lot of clinical significance in general in patients without complex lung conditions.
I noticed there aren't any tests that measure expelled O2/CO2. Maybe those tests aren't included now.
It was an indicator of how much oxygen you were absorbing from deep breaths, and how much carbon dioxide you were able to get rid of.
That indicates scarring of the lungs or chronic mucus etc that plugs the alveoli and reduces actual lung function( the tiny air sacs where carbon dioxide and oxygen are exchanged between the blood and the airways).
My dad's lungs worked great- he'd been a coach. He felt ok. But he'd been scarred by asbestos in the Navy. No one found it till his late 60s.
He didn't exchange quite enough oxygen and carbon dioxide. It probably contributed to his non Alzheimer's dementia, and inhalers didn't help because it was permanent scarring. As he got older, his body and brain didn't get as much oxygen as it could have. Still, he lived to 95, so....
Sorry if this was confusing.
Not knowing your age or medical history, I'd say the tests look pretty good.
Btw, no one gets an FEV1 of 100%.
Your lungs need to retain Residual Air, or we'd all pass out and die from holding our breath for one second!
Last edited: