whot is FEV1.71l 48% predited

[simon126]

pulmory function test shows servere airway obtruction and serverly reducedTLCO WHOT DOES THIS MEAN

[tanyamarie]

Did the nurse not explain the results? Or did they confuse you? Don't be afraid to have it all explaind to you Simon126. It can get very confusing and if you don't know what is going on with your own body then you can't look after yourself properly. I am sure someone will explain it to you soon, or google it and see what that says, I ve done that before!

[Puffthemagicdragon]

I'm apparently 43% which is severe. The odd thing is though, I don't feel severe !

[Hidden]

Hello Simon!

FEV means "forced expiratory volume" and FEV1 means the amount of air you can forcibly exhale in 1 second. This is a common measurement of how well your lungs are working (but there are other factors too). It is measured either in litres (yours being .71) or, more usually, as the % of predicted normal. This means that your FEV1 is 48% of what a person the same age and height as you, but with healthy lungs, would have. So your lung function by this measurement is less than half of what it should be.

Stitch has given you a link to a table which shows the guidelines for degree of severity as related to %FEV1. You will see that under both the GOLD column and the NICE 2010 one (which correspond to international guidelines) your FEV1 is "severe", as Stitch has said.

TLCO means "Transfer Factor of the Lung for Carbon Monoxide" and relates to the efficiency with which oxygen passes from the the lungs into the blood. You can expect this to be reduced in a lung problem such as emphysema or COPD.

Let's not get involved in silly stuff like "I'm worse than you", this is a support site, it's not a competition!

[gocat]

My husbands last spirometry showed him at 49% . The doctor has put on his notes that his copd is moderate. All confusing.

[Puffthemagicdragon]

My new doctor has arranged for me to see a COPD doctor at my local hospital. It's fully booked up at the moment so I wont be able to find out anymore until the beginning of August.

[gocat]

Not completely sure how is doing Stitch. Thanks for asking.

I just know he never wants to go out, hardly eats and drinks too much alcohol these days.

He seems completely out of breath just climbing a few steps which seems to be the only excercise he gets.

One good thing is that he gave up smoking 18 months ago

[Hidden]

Hi Stitch

Thanks for posting the link to the journal - now everyone can see in writing the info about FEV and the categories of COPD.

And just for anyone new to the commuity this is the best way of referring to any articles you see elsewhere - post the link to it rather than cut and paste pieces you have read - then everyone can see where the source is - clearly we can all see this info is already in the public domain - so no problems with copyright because no-one is claiming to "own" the info other than those who wrote it.

Thanks Stitch

Mark

[Hidden]

From Patient UK:

Stage 1 - mild: 80% or above (symptoms should be present to diagnose COPD in people with mild airflow obstruction).

Stage 2 - moderate: 50-79%.

Stage 3 - severe: 30-49%.

Stage 4 - very severe: below 30% (or FEV1 less than 50% but with respiratory failure).

patient.co.uk/doctor/Diagno...

Hope this helps clear the water.

[tyran57]

hi everyone, i went for my yearly review on monday my FEV1 was 46% the nurse said this is in the severe catorgory and my fingers are starting to flatten!! my feet and ankles are starting to swell really badly and its painful to walk she said i need to keep my feet raised as much as possible especially at night. the good news was my fingers werent showing any signs of blueness !! At least there was one piece of good (???) news!!! keep smiling everyone sandra

[tanyamarie]

ooh ur a good un Stitch well done hunny xx

[tanyamarie]

I genuinley think the confusion comes from the various medical practitioners giving out different information to others. You could have one result and it could be interpreted in different ways. Strange but true.

Which is why I think we all have a responsibility to ensure we fully understand our own illnessess and everything there is to go with it. So when you go and have a test done, make sure you are clear on the results, write it down in a diary or a journal so you can keep track of your progression, and ask the doc or nurse to explain it to you. 10 times if necessary! I do that with my dad, we have a folder and everything goes in there. If I don't understand something (quite often) and my dad isn't sure then we ask and by writing it down makes them explain it better and clearer.

Dad went to his assesment yesterday at the end of his rehab course. He was chuffed to beans saying that when he started his score was 79 and now it is 100. When asked in what he didnt have a clue! We had a laugh bless.

So chin up or double chins everyone, we are all in it together.

[Hidden]

yes, I agree with that. we really need better ways of measuring though I don't know what they can be. I find it really hard to blow into the spirometer at docs and less hard to blow into the peakflow ...partly as I have false teeth - that does make a difference.

[derrylynne]

Many have no idea at what stage they are at. And what your percentage is depends not only on the spirometer reading, but also your age and weight. All our lungs lose function as we get older, that is why age is taken into account. As well as this those of us with copd will have our fev change a little from day to day. Even from morning till night. In my own case by as much as 4%. I can test my own and usually it is about 25%, very severe, but it does on occasion rise to 29%. Of course during an exacerbation it can drop much further than this, the reason why when I am put into hospital I am on o2 24/7. FEV1 though is not the only factor. Other factors include your take up of oxygen, or retention of co2. Even the weather or if your house is damp or not can have an effect on how you feel, and ultimately what you can do. My best advice is to learn as much about your condition as possible. Knowledge, in the case of copd, really is a case of power.

[Jester in reply to derrylynne]

Knowledge with understanding, because whatever you die of it should not be ignorance.

Knew for a long time that the smoking should cease but failed on the understanding of why, until my spyro came back with the shock that explained it all.

[derrylynne]

I brought a piko 1 Stitch. And it seems very accurate.Certainly seems to be about the same as when I have tests at the hospital. I get the reading then use an internet site to put the reading into, and that gives me the percentage. Cost a few pence under £20 from Amazon. amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00...

[derrylynne]

The link to understand and convert your number to percentage is at patient.co.uk/showdoc/40002357

convert your hight to Cm and enter this. Your age and sex. FEV1 as on the piko. Mine is rather low. Today it showed 1.03 for instance. FVC you do not have so put in something like 3.5 or some figure it want to see something, don't worry this will not effect you FEV1 percentage. Put in your pefr, that is the other reading on your piko. Mine for instance today was 295. But I do have very severe. Then press calculate. Using the Piko blow into it three times. Then take the best of three.

The ones in the surgeries test for a host of other things also Stitch. The Piko though tells me what I want to know. Am I stable, have I improved a little, or am I getting worse. Let me know how you get on with it

[derrylynne]

another place you might to look for some good information on the piko 1 is nationaljewish.org/healthin...

Don't worry that this talks about asthma rather than copd. This little unit provides what we want, and that is the FEV1 result. But this site explains all about the piko-1. The leaflet that comes with the piko is not a lot of good, and anyway you would need to have a1aa sight as the tyepset is so small. laughs. That's it. All you need to know with this little gadget.

[huddy]

Statistics dam Statistics.

I have just got the results from my Spirometry test and are as follows.

FEV1 3.32 103% of predicted

FVC 4.96 117% of predicted

PEF 636 129% of predicted

Ratio 675

I have had emphysema for over

20 yrs with Pulmicort being my only medication.

Pretty good results but they don't tell the full story. I need ambulatory oxygen at 4 litres per min as the oxygen from my lungs is not getting into my bloodstream.It appears I have developed Fibrosis. They say this has nothing to do with the emphysema.

From playing golf 4 times a week in Oct to being breathless in Nov the results of my Test don't tell the full story.

[huddy]

Statistics dam Statistics.

I have just got the results from my Spirometry test and are as follows.

FEV1 3.32 103% of predicted

FVC 4.96 117% of predicted

PEF 636 129% of predicted

Ratio 675

I have had emphysema for over

20 yrs with Pulmicort being my only medication.

Pretty good results but they don't tell the full story. I need ambulatory oxygen at 4 litres per min as the oxygen from my lungs is not getting into my bloodstream.It appears I have developed Fibrosis. They say this has nothing to do with the emphysema.

From playing golf 4 times a week in Oct to being breathless in Nov the results of my Test don't tell the full story.

[music]

hi stitch what do post bronchodilator mean

[jackdup in reply to music]

When I have had my PFT they told me not to take any of my inhalers for 24 hours prior to the test and then they get all of the results without the bronchodilator. Then they give you a bronchodilator and do the test again to see how much improvement if any there is. If the improvement is above a certain percentage, and I don't recall what that percentage is, they consider that your airway obstruction is at least partially reversible which may imply at least a part of your disease may be asthma in addition to the COPD.

Others here will likely have more specific information.

[vin1 in reply to music]

Zero

[westielady1956]

I find that the Drs at the hospital have a machine now that a drop of blood (from earlobe less painful) will tell them what your FEV1 is, and then they will take steps to sort it out. When I was in hospital for something else they thought my o2 litres was high at 6. But once they had done aload of tests and blood drops they agreed that 6 litres is correct and in fact may need to go higher. I had a lung function test recently and that turned out to be 33%, my resp nurse is coming out to see me in 10 days. I was diagnosed with COPD 4 years ago when I went for tests for an operation, and my SATs were 73 no wonder I was feeling so rough. But now with o2 at 6 litres (could go up) 24/7 at least I dont get so out of breathe now. Everybody is different.