ArticleBMC pulmonary medicine2015
Diagnostic and prognostic utility of mid-expiratory flow rate in older community-dwelling persons with respiratory symptoms, but without chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Article in BMC pulmonary medicine, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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10 citing papers in PubMed, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
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- Different response of the oxygen pathway in patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension treated with pulmonary endarterectomy versus balloon pulmonary angioplasty.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2022Article
- Spirometry parameters used to define small airways obstruction in population-based studies: systematic review protocol.BMJ open · 2021Article
- Small airways in children with allergic rhinoconjunctivitis: the potential role of a multicomponent nutraceutical.Acta bio-medica : Atenei Parmensis · 2020Article
- Spirometric indices of early airflow impairment in individuals at risk of developing COPD: Spirometry beyond FEVRespiratory medicine · 2019Review
- Reduced gray matter volume and respiratory dysfunction in Parkinson's disease: a voxel-based morphometry study.BMC neurology · 2018Article
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe maximal expiratory flow at 50 % of the forced vital capacity (MEF50) is the flow where half of forced vital capacity (FVC) remains to be exhaled. A reduced MEF50 has been suggested as a surrogate marker of small airways disease. The diagnostic and prognostic utility of this easy to assess spirometric variable in persons with respiratory symptoms, but without COPD is unclear.
methodsWe used data from the UHFO-COPD cohort in which 405 community-dwelling persons aged 65 years or over, and a general practitioner's diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) underwent pulmonary function testing and echocardiography. In total 161 patients had no COPD according to the spirometric GOLD criteria. We considered MEF50 as reduced if < 60 % of predicted.
resultsOf the 161 patients without COPD (mean age 72 ± 5.7 years; 35 % male; follow-up 4.5 ± 1.1 years), 61 (37.9 %) had a reduced MEF50. They were older, had more pack-years of smoking, more respiratory symptoms, and used more frequently inhaled medication than the remaining 100 subjects. A reduced MEF50 was nearly twice as often associated with newly detected heart failure (HF) at assessment (29.5 % vs. 15.6 %, p = 0.045). In age-and sex-adjusted Cox regression analysis, a reduced MEF50 was significantly associated with episodes of acute bronchitis (hazard ratio 2.54 95 % confidence interval (1.26; 5.13) P = 0.009), and in trend with pneumonia (2.14 (0.98; 4.69) P = 0.06) and hospitalizations for pulmonary reasons (2.28 (0.93; 5.62) P = 0.07).
conclusionsIn older community-dwelling persons with pulmonary symptoms but without COPD, a reduced MEF50 may help to uncover unrecognized HF, and identify those at a higher risk for episodes of acute bronchitis, pneumonia and hospitalizations for pulmonary reasons. Echocardiography and close follow-up should be considered in these patients.
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