Prediction of COPD and Related Events Improves by Combining Spirometry and the Single Breath Nitrogen Test.

Prediction of COPD and Related Events Improves by Combining Spirometry and the Single Breath Nitrogen Test. COPD. 2018 Oct;15(5):424-431 Authors: Olofson J, Bake B, Bergman B, Ullman A, Svärdsudd K Abstract Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) develops in small airways. Severity of small airway pathology relates to progression and mortality. The present study evaluated the prediction of COPD of a validated test for small airway disease, i.e. a slope of the alveolar plateau of the single breath nitrogen test (N2-slope). The N2-slope, spirometry, age, smoking habits, and anthropometric variables at baseline were obtained in a population-based sample (n = 592). The cohort was followed for first COPD events (first hospital admission of COPD or related conditions or death from COPD) during 38 years. During follow-up, 52 subjects (8.8%) had a first COPD event, of which 18 (3.0%) died with a first COPD diagnosis. In the proportional hazard regression analysis adjusted for age and smoking habits, the cumulative COPD event incidence increased from 5% among those with high forced expired volume in one second (FEV1) to 25% among those with low FEV1, while increasing from 4% among those with the lowest N2-slope to 26% among those with the highest. However, combining the N2-slope and FEV1 resulted in considerable synergy in the prediction of first COPD event and even more so when taking account of smoking habits. The cumulative COPD ...
Source: COPD: Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease - Category: Respiratory Medicine Tags: COPD Source Type: research