[Usefulness of an exercise pulmonary function test for differential diagnosis or treatment evaluation of restrictive pulmonary diseases].
To simplify its applications in patients in poor condition such as cases of idiopathic interstitial pneumonia (IIP), we chose a simple method of exercise test instead of the usual method. The method consisted of the single Master's two-step test and instant blood-gathering without keeping a needle in a vessel. By this method, PaO2 after exercise was estimated approximately 7 torr less than with the usual method, but tendencies of PaO2 changes were accurately observed. In a study on 8 patients with IIP, 20 collagen vascular disease cases with pulmonary changes (CVD), 11 hypersensitivity pneumonitis cases, and 5 sarcoidosis cases, the parameters such as delta PaO2 or delta AaDO2 differentiated the different physiological conditions of the 4 disease groups accurately. However, the exercise test was noted to be less sensitive in terms of differential diagnosis than the at-rest test after a multiple discriminant analysis in the 4 disease groups. For the estimate of patient prognosis delta AaDO2 was most useful in a study of IIP and CVD patients. We conclude that this simple exercise test is useful for the diagnosis or evaluating treatment of such restrictive pulmonary disease.
Homma
Y
Y
D000368:Aged; D000542:Alveolitis, Extrinsic Allergic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005080:Exercise Test / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D011658:Pulmonary Fibrosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy