title: Frequency and correlates of the saw-tooth pattern of flow-volume curves in an epidemiological survey.
abstract: The object of this report was to assess the possibility of identifying saw-tooth patterns on flow-volume curves in men aged 28 to 58 years. We studied the frequency of these patterns and their relationships with two indirect signs of UAO increase in FEV1/PEF and FEF50%/FIF50% ratios--as well as with clinical and functional data. Twenty-six of the 360 subjects surveyed, ie, 7.2 percent, had flow oscillations in the inspiratory and/or expiratory part of flow-volume curves, corresponding to the definition of the saw-tooth pattern. We observed significant relationships between the saw-tooth pattern and the mean FEV1/PEF ratio. In 97 subjects, the proportion of those with saw-tooth patterns was 13.4 percent, and the mean FEF50%/FIF50% ratio was 1.53 in those with the pattern vs 1.07 in those without it. These results show that the saw-tooth pattern was not rare in these men.
authors.affiliation: INSERM Unit 226, Paris, France.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Neukirch
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Weitzenblum
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Liard
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Korobaeff
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Henry
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Orvoën-Frija
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kauffmann
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005540:Forced Expiratory Flow Rates; D005541:Forced Expiratory Volume; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010366:Peak Expiratory Flow Rate; D012123:Pulmonary Ventilation; D012140:Respiratory Tract Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000503:physiopathology; D012913:Snoring / Q000503:physiopathology; D014797:Vital Capacity