ArticleChronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (Miami, Fla.)2021
Normal Routine Spirometry Can Mask COPD/Emphysema in Symptomatic Smokers.
Article in Chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (Miami, Fla.), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 9 citations in OpenAlex.
- New spirometry recommendations from the Brazilian Thoracic Association - 2024 update.Jornal brasileiro de pneumologia : publicacao oficial da Sociedade Brasileira de Pneumologia e Tisilogia · 2025Guideline
- Small airway dysfunction: a shared, early, measurable, and potentially treatable trait across COPD, asthma, and fibrotic lung disease.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Review
- Review
- Isolated abnormal FEF75% detects unsuspected bronchiolar obstruction in CF children.Pediatric research · 2023Article
- The Role of Pulmonary Function Testing in the Diagnosis and Management of COPD.Respiratory care · 2023Review
- Small airway function measured using forced expiratory flow between 25% and 75% of vital capacity and its relationship to airflow limitation in symptomatic ever-smokers: a cross-sectional study.BMJ open respiratory research · 2022Article
- Diagnostic efficacy of visual subtypes and low attenuation area based on HRCT in the diagnosis of COPD.BMC pulmonary medicine · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 6 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundRecent studies have emphasized the difficulty of early detection of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in symptomatic smokers with normal routine spirometry. This includes post-bronchodilator normal forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV
methodsExpiratory airflow at high and low lung volumes post-bronchodilator were measured and correlated with lung computed tomography (CT) and lung pathology (6 patients) in 16 symptomatic, treated smokers, and all with normal routine spirometry.
resultsDespite normal routine spirometry, all16 patients had isolated, abnormal forced expiratory flow at 75% of FVC (FEF
conclusionThis study confirms our earlier observations that detection of small airways obstruction and/or emphysema, in symptomatic smokers with normal routine spirometry, requires analysis of expiratory airflow at low lung volumes, including FEF
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.