Annals Thoracic Surgery, Author Interviews, NIH, Pulmonary Disease / 09.03.2014
COPD: Using FEV6 to Identify More Affected Patients
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Surya P Bhatt MD
Assistant Professor
Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine
University of Alabama at Birmingham
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Bhatt: The forced vital capacity (FVC) maneuver is a difficult maneuver for many patients and the forced expiratory volume in the first 6 seconds (FEV6) has been shown to be a reliable substitute. We used imaging findings on computed tomography, COPD questionnaires and tests of exercise capacity to compare these two spirometric measures (FEV1/FVC and FEV/FEV6) in the diagnosis of airflow obstruction, and showed that FEV6 can be reliably substituted for FVC. Our findings suggest that using FEV6 may in fact identify more patients with disease than by using FVC.
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