Spirometry testing...

Hi

I went for my first lot of testing today - after 5 months if what can only be described as asthma hell!

The person doing the test said that I have residual oxygen - no I assume this means that I never exhale totally...can anyone expand on this for me?

I also had probs with the tests for exhaling as quickly/forcibly as possibly - to the point we had to stop to then repeat again with similar episodes afterwards...Is this normal reaction?

Thanks in advance!

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Hi there,

Sorry to hear about your 'asthma hell' = hopefully the spirometry will be helpful in properly assessing and treating you and improving your control.

I'm not familiar with the term 'residual oxygen' - I have never heard that term used in relation to spirometry before. They do sometimes calculate the residual volume, although usually only when doing full lung function tests rather than just spirometry. The residual volume is the volume of air that is left in the lungs after you have exhaled as much as you can. None of us exhale completely - we all have residual air left in our lungs at the end of expiration, which acts to prevent the airways and alveoli from collapsing completely, and makes breathing in again less difficult.

People who have chronic airflow obstruction, such as those with COPD or chronic asthma, may have an increased residual volume, as the airflow obstruction makes it more difficult to breath out than to breath in. This is known as 'air trapping' and leads to hyperinflation of the lungs, which can sometimes be seen on chest X ray. There isn't really any specific treatment for this; sometimes physio techniques can help, but the treatment mainly focuses on treating the underlying airflow obstruction.

Having problems with the forced exhalation part of the test is not unusual, especially if your asthma is poorly controlled. Breathing out in a forceful way is irritating to the airways, and may cause bronchospasm, which will affect the results of the test. I think most of us have probably been in the position of having to repeat it multiple times in order to get one good-ish result!

There is some good information on spirometry here: patient.co.uk/showdoc/40025...

and calculate your predicted values here: patient.co.uk/showdoc/40002...

Hope this helps

Em H

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Thanks EmilyH

I didn't really understand the residual oxygen thing myself - not sure if should be overly concerned - but shall leave that angst until I next see the Consultant...

Would air trapping explain why my chest has hurt so much more during this bout than previously?

Do my problems with the forced exhalation also explain why I often have coughing fits trying to do my peak flow?

Thank you so much...

After my Cons has these results are my meds likely to be reviewed at last?

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Hi there,

Air trapping shouldn't particularly cause you pain. A lot of us find we do get chest wall pain when the breathing is bad - it can be for many reasons. Infections can cause irritation of the pleura (the lining of the lung) and cause pain, coughing can crack a rib which is very painful, or it can be simply due to intercostal muscles being overworked and becoming painful. If pain is a new problem for you and you have not previously discussed it with your doctor, you should discuss it so that they can rule out any serious cause of pain.

Blowing out rapidly to do a peak flow certainly can trigger bronchospasm and thus coughing and wheezing, in exactly the same way that doing spirometry can - this is often a sign that your asthma is not as well controlled as it might be. If you are experiencing this, again it's something to mention to your doctor.

I don't know if your consultant plans to review your meds now that you have had spirometry done - that's something you'll have to ask him. Certainly, there are a few indications that your control could be improved on, so a review of meds would seem on the face of it to be appropriate.

Hope this helps

Take care

Em H