understanding spirometry results.

[shellcharlie]

when my husband had his spirometry test the nurse put his age in as 70 when he is 60

would this make a difference to the results.

his fev1/fvc is 30%

if the nurse had put the correct age would this result have been lower?

[soulsaver]

No - age isn't considered in that particular calculation (Fev1/FVC ratio).

It would make a difference if you were talking about Fev1 as % of predicted, because the predicted result varies by age.

[shellcharlie in reply to soulsaver]

thankyou the fev1 was 30% am I correct in thinking his results would be compared to a 70

the fev1 base was o.84

[Toci in reply to shellcharlie]

Yes, you are correct it may skew the results. She must have been inputting his age for a reason so it needs to be accurate. Why not check with the BLF nurses? You will get them on 03000 030 555 during office hours.

[soulsaver in reply to shellcharlie]

I doubt the Fev1 and the Fev1/FVC are both 30%. The normal for the Fev1 is to be able to blow out 75% of the capacity(FVC) out ones lungs. The FVC varies by sex height AND age. What confuses people is the Fev1 is a capacity - 0.84 litres (think)in his case. That is then expressed as a %(a) of his FVC and that is expressed as %(b) with the predicted(normal range) for a height/age/sex combination. Have you got the printed results?

Can you scan it in?

When you say 'base' you mean before salbutamol on reversibility test?

[Hidden]

I don't think so but I would ask her why she did that.

[Hidden]

I think it's age hight and sex that the spirometry test is based on.....so wrong age by 10 years is going to be lower.

Get back to them so they can give you the correct results. .

You don't have to do the test again as they got what you can do.

Take care.

[Offcut]

patient.info/doctor/spirome...

Shows difference in age just put the figures in and see what comes up with both ages?

[shellcharlie in reply to Offcut]

thank you

so I put the results in the calculator

fev1 0.84

fvc 3.27

pef 173

the results fev1 25% low fvc 89% normal fvc1 fvc ratio low

the results on the paper say fev1 30%

the reason I am asking is he has a pip assessment on Monday and I am not sure if I should mention it

thanks.

[Offcut in reply to shellcharlie]

I would mention the conditions and what affect they have. Do not bog them down with the figures as most of the time they have no idea what you are talking about and are just box ticking.

Remember to NOT say on a good day only on a "Better Day" as they will use the good data as the norm!

Good luck.

[shellcharlie in reply to Offcut]

thanks, there are no good days anymore, he is breathless even at rest

he has to stop every 5 or 6 steps to cough and breath, so walking to the assessment room could take a while.

the thing that annoys me is with a fev1 at 25% as it should be if correct age was put in he would not have had to go through a assessment

as its classed as gold standard 5 {too breathless to walk}

we will see how it goes

[Offcut in reply to shellcharlie]

With that info you should of insisted on a home visit? Make sure if he cannot do anything that they ask him to do he does not even try. They said I was fit for work as I could lift my arms up so could move empty cardboard boxes? If I keep my arms up my breathing is affected but they did not ask that?

[shellcharlie in reply to Offcut]

thanks offcut,

in the mornings his breathing is so bad/hard he cannot talk and breath and even though I asked for a late appointment we have one at 10.30

not looking forward to it

[Nottobad in reply to shellcharlie]

Hi try not to worry to much about it. I am not as bad as your husband But when I went for my assessment my breathing was really bad and the assessorr could see how bad I was I was awarded standard for both. Not all assessors are nasty I had a realy nice one. One thing I did have to do was blow in to a peak flow meter and the reading was 130 and I refused to do most of the things they wanted me to do. Good luck x

[jackdup in reply to Offcut]

Wow Offcut that is laughable and not in a funny way.

You sometimes wish these people could live a day in your shoes and then see what conclusions they draw