Help with figures

[kydam]

Hi everyone, could someone please throw some light on the undermentioned figures. My understanding is that my lungs are effectively about 80 years old? Initial diagnosis copd, then changed to asthma.... very strange?

Predicted peak flow: 401 1/min

Recorded/predicated PEFR ratio: 95%

Expected FVC: 3.28 l

FVC/expected FVC percent: 102%

Expected FEV1: 2.8 1

Percent predicated FEV : 79%

Lung vital capacity: 2.86 l

Peak flow rate after bronchodilation: 424 l/min

FEV1/FVC after bronchdil: 69%

FVC after bronchodil: 3.68 l

FEV1 after bronchidilatiin: 2.54 l

Peak exp. Flow rate PEFR/PFR: 380 l/min

FEV1/FVC percent 66%

Forced vital capacity: 3.35 l

Forced expired volume in one second: 2.2 l

Okay. now do I have that once in a lifetime holiday sooner rather than later?

All comments welcome..... thank you so much.

[jabber]

Hi Kydam, I'd suggest you phone the BLF helpline (03000 030 555) where you'll be able to speak to experts who will make sense of all those numbers for you.

As for the once in a lifetime holiday - why wait? Go for it whatever those figures mean!

Good luck! Jan

[kydam in reply to jabber]

cheers, thanks.

[O2Trees]

Hi kydam, I don't think you need that lifetime hol just yet, but you could take it anyway!

Its a bit difficult to understand your figures, which are always hard to understand if its the first time you've had them. But yours don't seem to be in the order they happened. At the bottom you have the figures BEFORE bronchodilation, and higher up you give the ones AFTER bronchodilation. The predicted numbers are based on your age, weight and hight.

One of the indicators of asthma is reversibility with treatment and your peak flow results are consistent with that, i.e. 380 before, and 424 after which is quite a big difference. This might account for an asthma diagnosis.

Re the FEV1, you go from 2.21 to 2.54 litres, again a reasonable increase after using (presumably) salbultomol/ventolin.

Both asthma and copd are obstructive conditions, asthma as I've said above, being partly or wholly reversible. Often people have both and some kinds of asthma come under the copd umbrella.

You don't say how old you are so saying your lungs have been rated at those of an 80 year old doesn't tell us anything, i.e. if you are 75, then that's not very significant but if you are 25, then it would be. On the other hand an excellent respiratory nurse (who became nurse advisor to the BLF, now retired) once told me that describing lungs in that way is a bit of a gimmick.

Anyway there will be lots more to say and i emphasise i'm not a medic. There are forum members who often answer queries with useful web links which can tell you a lot but if i were you i'd take Jan's advice and phone the BLF helpline whose nurses are excellent and very good at explaining.

Good luck.

[kydam in reply to O2Trees]

Thank you very much for your information and advice.