Assessment of long-term changes in airway function.
There is some evidence supporting long-term 'tracking' of decline in FEV1 at least in middle-aged male smokers, so that a moderately reduced FEV1 predicts subsequent disability and death. Distribution of individual rates of decline in FEV1 stabilizes after follow-up for 4 to 5 years, but large and unexplained differences in decline in FEV1 are found between individuals with similar smoking history. There are theoretical advantages to following post-bronchodilator FEV1 but few studies of its usefulness are available. Changes in other tests derived from the single breath N2 test or the maximum expiratory flow-volume curve have been less informative than originally postulated and their long-term prognostic value remains unknown.
Pride
N B
NB
Department of Medicine, Royal Postgraduate Medical School, London, United Kingdom.
D005541:Forced Expiratory Volume; D006801:Humans; D008173:Lung Diseases, Obstructive / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D013997:Time Factors