scholarly journals Detection of Peripheral Ventilation Inhomogeneity in Smokers

1997 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-33
Author(s):  
DJ Cotton ◽  
JT Mink ◽  
BL Graham

BACKGROUND: In smokers, ‘small airways’ narrowing alters the conventional, vital capacity single breath washout (SBWVC). Although, in some studies, the test predicts smokers at risk of developing chronic airflow limitation, its wide variability partly explains its poor positive predictive value. An alternative explanation for the test’s poor predictive value is that it may not accurately reflect small airway narrowing in the lung periphery.OBJECTIVE: To determine whether smoke-induced increases in ventilation inhomogeneity differ between SBWVCmanoeuvres, which augment topographical (apex-to-base) ventilation inhomogeneity, and submaximal manoeuvres (SBWSM), which enhance peripheral ventilation inhomogeneity.STUDY GROUP AND DESIGN: Cross-sectional study of 21 current smokers and 21 nonsmokers with similar age and forced expiratory volumes in 1 s (FEV1).METHODS: Smokers and nonsmokers performed SBW with either slow vital capacity inhalation and exhalation of test gas without breath holding (SBWVC); or slow inhalation of test gas from functional residual capacity to one-half inspiratory capacity and, after 0 s or 10 s of breath holding, slow exhalation to residual volume (SBWSM). For all SBW the normalized phase III helium slope (Sn), closing capacity (CC) as a percentage of total lung capacity (TLC) and mixing efficiency (Emix) were measured.RESULTS: For SBWVC, smoking had no effect on Snor Emix. However, CC/TLC was increased in smokers (P<0.05), but did not correlate with pack years or age. For SBWSM, smoking had no effect on Emixor CC/TLC, but resulted in a steeper Sn(P <0.05), which decreased more with breath holding (P<0.01) and correlated with pack years (P<0.05) at 0 s but not 10 s of breath holding.CONCLUSIONS: In smokers with normal FEV1, SBWSM manoeuvres reveal increases in breath hold time-dependent ventilation inhomogeneity in the lung periphery, not detected by conventional SBWVC.

1998 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
DJ Cotton ◽  
JT Mink ◽  
BL Graham

BACKGROUND: Although centrilobular emphysema, and small airway, interstitial and alveoli inflammation can be detected pathologically in the lungs of smokers with relatively well preserved lung function, these changes are difficult to assess using available physiological tests. Because submaximal single breath washout (SBWSM) manoeuvres improve the detection of abnormalities in ventilation inhomogeneity in the lung periphery in smokers compared with traditional vital capacity manoeuvres, SBWSMmanoeuvres were used in this study to measure temporal differences in diffusing capacity using a rapid response carbon monoxide analyzer.OBJECTIVE: To determine whether abnormalities in the lung periphery can be detected in smokers with normal forced expired volumes in 1 s using the three-equation diffusing capacity (DLcoSB-3EQ) among small alveolar gas samples and whether the abnormalities correlate with increases in peripheral ventilation inhomogeneity.PARTICIPANTS AND DESIGN: Cross-sectional study in 21 smokers and 21 nonsmokers all with normal forced exhaled flow rates.METHODS: Both smokers and nonsmokers performed SBWSMmanoeuvres consisting of slow inhalation of test gas from functional residual capacity to one-half inspiratory capacity with either 0 or 10 s of breath holding and slow exhalation to residual volume (RV). They also performed conventional vital capacity single breath (SBWVC) manoeuvres consisting of slow inhalation of test gas from RV to total lung capacity and, without breath holding, slow exhalation to RV. DLcoSB-3EQ was calculated from the total alveolar gas sample. DLcoSB-3EQ was also calculated from four equal sequential, simulated aliquots of the total alveolar gas sample. DLcoSB-3EQ values from the four alveolar samples were normalized by expressing each as a percentge of DLcoSB-3EQ from the entire alveolar gas sample. An index of variation (DI) among the small-sample DLcoSB-3EQ values was correlated with the normalized phase III helium slope (Sn) and the mixing efficiency (Emix).RESULTS: For SBWSM, DIwas increased in smokers at 0 s of breath holding compared with nonsmokers, and correlated with age, smoking pack-years and Sn. The decrease in DIwith breath holding was greater in smokers and correlated with the change in Sn with breath holding. For SBWVCmanoeuvres, there were no differences due to smoking in Sn or Emix, but DIwas increased in smokers and correlated with age and smoking pack-years, but not with Sn.CONCLUSIONS: For SBWSMmanoeuvres the increase in DIin smokers correlated with breath hold time-dependent increases in Sn, suggesting that the changes in DIreflected the same structural alterations that caused increases in peripheral ventilation inhomogeneity. For SBWVCmanoeuvres, the increase in DIin smokers was not associated with changes in ventilation inhomogeneity, suggesting that the effect of smoking on DIduring this manoeuvre was due to smoke-related changes in alveolar capillary diffusion, rather than due solely to alterations in the distribution of ventilation.


1994 ◽  
Vol 76 (4) ◽  
pp. 1494-1501 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. R. Soparkar ◽  
J. T. Mink ◽  
B. L. Graham ◽  
D. J. Cotton

The dynamic changes in CO concentration [CO] during a single breath could be influenced by topographic inhomogeneity in the lung or by peripheral inhomogeneity due to a gas mixing resistance in the gas phase of the lung or to serial gradients in gas diffusion. Ten healthy subjects performed single-breath maneuvers by slowly inhaling test gas from functional residual capacity to one-half inspiratory capacity and slowly exhaling to residual volume with target breath-hold times of 0, 1.5, 3, 6, and 9 s. We calculated the three-equation single-breath diffusing capacity of the lung for CO (DLSBCO-3EQ) from the mean [CO] in both the entire alveolar gas sample and in four successive equal alveolar gas samples. DLSBCO-3EQ from the entire alveolar gas sample was independent of breath-hold time. However, with 0 s of breath holding, from early alveolar gas samples DLSBCO-3EQ was reduced and from late alveolar gas samples it was increased. With increasing breath-hold time, DLSBCO-3EQ from the earliest alveolar gas sample rapidly increased, whereas from the last alveolar gas sample it rapidly decreased such that all values from the small alveolar gas samples approached DLSBCO-3EQ from the entire alveolar sample. These changes correlated with ventilation inhomogeneity, as measured by the phase III He concentration slope and the mixing efficiency, and were larger for maneuvers with inspired volumes to one-half inspiratory capacity vs. total lung capacity.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


1992 ◽  
Vol 73 (6) ◽  
pp. 2623-2630 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. J. Cotton ◽  
M. B. Prabhu ◽  
J. T. Mink ◽  
B. L. Graham

In patients with airflow obstruction, we found that ventilation inhomogeneity during vital capacity single-breath maneuvers was associated with decreases in the three-equation single-breath CO diffusing capacity of the lung (DLcoSB-3EQ) when breath-hold time (tBH) decreased. We postulated that this was due to a significant resistance to diffusive gas mixing within the gas phase of the lung. In this study, we hypothesized that this phenomenon might also occur in normal subjects if the breathing cycle were altered from traditional vital capacity maneuvers to those that increase ventilation inhomogeneity. In 10 normal subjects, we examined the tBH dependence of both DLcoSB-3EQ and the distribution of ventilation, measured by the mixing efficiency and the normalized phase III slope for helium. Preinspiratory lung volume (V0) was increased by keeping the maximum end-inspiratory lung volume (Vmax) constant or by increasing V0 and Vmax. When V0 increased while Vmax was kept constant, we found that the tBH-independent and the tBH-dependent components of ventilation inhomogeneity increased, but DLcoSB-3EQ was independent of V0 and tBH. Increasing V0 and Vmax did not change ventilation inhomogeneity at a tBH of 0 s, but the tBH-dependent component decreased. DLcoSB-3EQ, although independent of tBH, increased slightly with increases in Vmax. We conclude that in normal subjects increases in ventilation inhomogeneity with increases in V0 do not result in DLcoSB-3EQ becoming tBH dependent.


1989 ◽  
Vol 66 (6) ◽  
pp. 2511-2515 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. B. Crawford ◽  
D. J. Cotton ◽  
M. Paiva ◽  
L. A. Engel

We examined the effect of airway closure on ventilation distribution during tidal breathing in six normal subjects. Each subject performed multiple-breath N2 washouts (MBNW) at tidal volumes of 1 liter over a range of preinspiratory lung volumes (PILV) from functional residual capacity (FRC) to just above residual volume. All subjects performed washouts at PILV below their measured closing capacity. In addition five of the subjects performed MBNW at PILV below closing capacity with end-inspiratory breath holds of 2 or 5 s. We measured the following two independent indexes of ventilation maldistribution: 1) the normalized phase III slope of the final breaths of the washout (Snf) and 2) the alveolar mixing efficiency of those breaths of the washout where 80–90% of the initial N2 had been cleared. Between a mean PILV of 0.28 liter above closing capacity and that 0.31 liter below closing capacity, mean Snf increased by 132% (P less than 0.005). Over the same volume range, mean alveolar mixing efficiency decreased by 3.3% (P less than 0.05). Breath holding at PILV below closing capacity resulted in marked and consistent decreases in Snf and increases in alveolar mixing efficiency. Whereas inhomogeneity of ventilation decreases with lung volume when all airways are patent (J. Appl. Physiol. 66: 2502–2510, 1989), airway closure increases ventilation inequality, and this is substantially reduced by short end-inspiratory breath holds. These findings suggest that the predominant determinant of ventilation distribution below closing capacity is the inhomogeneous closure of airways subtending regions in the lung periphery that are close together.


1984 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. S. Hurst ◽  
B. L. Graham ◽  
D. J. Cotton

We studied 10 symptom-free lifetime non-smokers and 17 smokers all with normal pulmonary function studies. All subjects performed single-breath N2 washout tests by either exhaling slowly (“slow maneuver”) from end inspiration (EI) to residual volume (RV) or exhaling maximally (“fast maneuver”) from EI to RV. After either maneuver, subjects then slowly inhaled 100% O2 to total lung capacity (TLC) and without breath holding, exhaled slowly back to RV. In the nonsmokers seated upright phase III slope of single-breath N2 test (delta N2/l) was lower (P less than 0.01) for the fast vs. the slow maneuver, but this difference disappeared when the subjects repeated the maneuvers in the supine position. In contrast, delta N2/l was higher for the fast vs. the slow maneuver (P less than 0.01) in smokers seated upright. For the slow maneuver, delta N2/l was similar between smokers and nonsmokers but for the fast maneuvers delta N2/l was higher in smokers than nonsmokers (P less than 0.01). We suggest that the fast exhalation to RV decreases delta N2/l in normal subjects by decreasing apex-to-base differences in regional ratio of RV to TLC (RV/TLC) but increases delta N2/l in smokers, because regional RV/TLC increases distal to sites of small airways obstruction when the expiratory flow rate is increased.


1996 ◽  
Vol 80 (4) ◽  
pp. 1126-1132 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. K. Prisk ◽  
A. M. Lauzon ◽  
S. Verbanck ◽  
A. R. Elliot ◽  
H. J. Guy ◽  
...  

We performed single-breath wash-in tests for He and SF6 in four subjects exposed to 14 days of microgravity (microG) during the Spacelab flight Spacelab Life Sciences-2. Subjects inspired a vital capacity breath of 5% He-1.25% SF6-balance O2 and then exhaled to residual volume at 0.5l/s. The tests were also performed with a 10-s breath hold at the end of inspiration. Measurements were also made with the subjects standing and supine in 1 G. Phase III slope was measured after the dead-space washout and before the onset of airway closure. In all subjects in 1 G, whether standing or supine, phase III slope for SF6 was significantly steeper than that for He. However, in microG, the slopes became the same. Furthermore, after breath holding in microG, the SF6 slopes were significantly flatter than those for He. On return to 1 G, the changes were reversed, and there was no difference between preflight and postflight values. Because most of the phase III slope reflects events occurring in the acinar regions of the lung, the results suggest that microG causes conformational changes in the acini or changes in cardiogenic mixing in the lung periphery, but in either case the mechanism is unclear.


2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 388-395
Author(s):  
Sergei V. Subbotin

Aim: to study the diagnostic significance of volume capnography in examination of patients with severe and moderate bronchial asthma (BA). Materials and Methods. 171 patents were examined, of them 43 patients with severe BA and 45 patients with moderate BA. The control group included 83 relatively healthy volunteers. In all the participants, along with clinical examination, parameters of spirometry and volume capnography were determined using ultrasound computer spirograph SpiroScout (Ganshorn, Germany) equipped with a volume capnography function. Results. Volume capnography revealed the following changes in patients with BA in comparison with the control group: increase in the slope of phase III (indicates non-uniformity of ventilation and perfusion in the lung periphery due to pathology of the small airways) and increase in emphysema index (indicates hyperinflation of lung). The above indices had statistically significant differences in severe and moderate asthma. Based on the results of examination of healthy individuals, the normal values for the slope of phase III (<0.31 g/mol·L) and emphysema index (<43) were calculated. Diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of volume capnography were studied with subsequent construction of ROC-curves and calculation of AUC for the slope angle of phase III and for emphysema index. It was found that most informative in BA are parameters of specificity of the diagnostic test (slope of phase III – 90.32%, emphysema index – 96.77%). The subsequent construction of ROC-curves showed that the AUC value for slope of phase III and emphysema index was higher in severe BA compared to the moderate BA (0.74 and 0.86, respectively). Conclusion. The obtained data demonstrate the significance of volume capnography in the functional diagnosis of respiratory disorders in BA.


2001 ◽  
Vol 91 (2) ◽  
pp. 637-644 ◽  
Author(s):  
Per M. Gustafsson ◽  
Ola Eiken ◽  
Mikael Grönkvist

The effects of increased gravity in the head-to-foot direction (+Gz) and pressurization of an anti-G suit (AGS) on total and intraregional intra-acinar ventilation inhomogeneity were explored in 10 healthy male subjects. They performed vital capacity (VC) single-breath washin/washouts of SF6 and He in +1, +2, or +3 Gz in a human centrifuge, with an AGS pressurized to 0, 6, or 12 kPa. The phase III slopes for SF6 and He over 25–75% of the expired VC were used as markers of total ventilation inhomogeneity, and the (SF6 − He) slopes were used as indicators of intraregional intra-acinar inhomogeneity. SF6 and He phase III slopes increased proportionally with increasing gravity, but the (SF6 − He) slopes remained unchanged. AGS pressurization did not change SF6 or He slopes significantly but resulted in increased (SF6 − He) slope differences at 12 kPa. In conclusion, hypergravity increases overall but not intraregional intra-acinar inhomogeneity during VC breaths. AGS pressurization provokes increased intraregional intra-acinar ventilation inhomogeneity, presumably reflecting the consequences of basilar pulmonary vessel engorgement in combination with compression of the basilar lung regions.


2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael D. Sokoloff ◽  
Larry Bortner ◽  
Ralph J. Panos

Characterizing the complexity of airflow limitation in diagnosing and assessing disease severity in asthma, COPD, cystic fibrosis, and other respiratory diseases can help guide clinicians toward the most appropriate treatments. Current technologies allow obstructive lung disease to be measured with about 5%−10% precision. A noninvasive dynamic pulmonary function monitor (DPFM) can quantify ventilation inhomogeneities, such as those originating in partially blocked or constricted small airways, with 1% precision if inert gas concentrations can be measured accurately and precisely over three to four decades of sensitivity. We have studied the precision and linearity of a commercially available mass spectrometer, sampling the gas exhaled by a mechanical lung analog, mimicking a multibreath inert gas washout measurement. The root mean square deviation of the inert gas concentration measured for each “breath,” compared to the expected value for a purely exponential decay, is found to be about 1.1% over three decades of concentration. The corresponding overall impairment, a specific measure of ventilation inhomogeneity, is found to be about 0.2%, which indicates that were inhomogeneities observed, the corresponding impairment could be measured with 1% precision.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Po-Wei Hu ◽  
Hsin-Kuo Ko ◽  
Kang-Cheng Su ◽  
Jia-Yih Feng ◽  
Wei-Juin Su ◽  
...  

Abstract Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) may present comorbid obstructive lung diseases with small airway dysfunction (SAD). Existing guidelines suggest that inhaled bronchodilators should be used if the ratio of forced expiratory volume in the 1st second and forced vital capacity (FEV1/FVC) < 0.7 in IPF. However, most IPF patients have FEV1/FVC > 0.7 even with coexisting emphysema. We retrospectively enrolled IPF patients who were registered at our outpatient clinic. At baseline, 63 patients completed computed tomography (CT) scans, lung function measurements, and symptom questionnaires. Among these patients, 54 (85.71%) underwent antifibrotic treatment and 38 (60.32%) underwent long-acting bronchodilator treatment. The median FEV1/FVC was 0.86. Not all patients treated with bronchodilators showed significant changes in lung function. IPF patients with SAD, determined by IOS parameters, showed significant improvement in FEV1, FEF25–75%, and symptom scores after bronchodilator treatment. Bronchodilator efficacy was not observed in patients without SAD. CT-confirmed emphysema was seen in 34.92% of patients. There were no changes in lung function or symptom scores after bronchodilator treatment in patients with emphysema. In conclusion, FEV1/FVC cannot reflect the airflow limitation in IPF. Emphysema in IPF is not a deciding factor in whether patients should receive bronchodilator treatment. IOS parameters may be useful to guide bronchodilator therapy in patients with IPF coexisting with SAD.


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