[Evaluation of the ventilatory function in elderly subjects].
OBJECTIVE
Many elderly subjects are at risk of respiratory failure due to effect of age on ventilatory system and the deleterious effects of toxins and respiratory diseases. As spirometry is the main technique currently used to detect altered ventilatory function we first used this method in very elderly subjects then compared the results with clinical measurements of chest and abdominal ampliation.


METHODS
Among 65 subjects over 75 years of age, with no cardiorespiratory or neuropsychologic impairment and who had undergone spirometry and chest and abdominal ampliation measurements in 1991, 24 were re-examined in 1994 using exactly the same techniques. Forced vital capacity and maximum expiratory volume/second were measured at the patient's home with a previously calibrated spirometer. All tests were run according to the recommendations of the European Respiratory Society. Variations in upper chest, lower chest and abdominal circumferences were also recorded.


RESULTS
Mean age of the subjects was 84.1 +/- 3.7 years and all spirometric tests were reproductible within a given measurement session. There was no significant difference for forced vital capacity or for maximum expiratory volume/second between the 1991 and the 1994 values with variations of 2.1 +/- 0.4 and 9.4 +/- 3.4% respectively. Four of the 24 initially asymptomatic subjects had signs of obstruction which resolved in 2 with the salbutamol and/or ipratropium bromide. The correlations between spirometric data and chest and abdominal ampliations were significative.


CONCLUSIONS
Spirometry can be an effective tool in elderly patients. In addition to frequent discovery of reversible bronchial obstruction (7 to 41% according to the series), it can be used to screen for reduced ventilatory "reserve". Chest ampliations measures also appear to be simple means of determining which subjects could benefit from physical therapy aimed at improving chest and abdominal musculature.
Pfitzenmeyer
P
P
Service de Médecine gériatrique, CHRU de Dijon.
Mansour
M
M
Brondel
L
L
d'Athis
P
P
Jeannin
L
L
Gaudet
M
M
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005541:Forced Expiratory Volume / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008451:Maximal Voluntary Ventilation / Q000502:physiology*; D012016:Reference Values; D012737:Sex Factors; D013147:Spirometry
Evaluation de la fonction ventilatoire chez le sujet âgé.