title: [Use of routinely performed spirometry in the general medical examination (author's transl)].
abstract: The value of routine spirometry was investigated in 631 unselected out-patients. The spirogram was abnormal in 17%, the ECG in 15% and the chest X-ray in 13% of patients. Pathological spirograms correlated mainly with mild or moderate obstructive ventilatory disturbances (80%) which were associated with clinical findings in only 74%. In the ECG, disturbances of repolarisation were more common (71%) than those of stimulation and conduction (29%) and were associated with clinical findings in 65%. In 91% of patients with pathological chest radiograms other investigations had indicated the necessity for an X-ray. Thus spirometry is, in addition to ECG and chest X-ray, a useful routine method. As disorders of the lung function are not always predictable by smoking habits, spirometry offers the possibility for early detection of symptom-free disease of the lung and respiratory tract.
mesh_terms: D004562:Electrocardiography; D006801:Humans; D008173:Lung Diseases, Obstructive / Q000175:diagnosis; D010808:Physical Examination; D013902:Radiography, Thoracic; D013147:Spirometry
vernacular_title: Was leistet eine routinemässig durchgeführte Spirometrie bei der internistischen Untersuchung?