A patient’s pulmonary function results are:
%of predicted
- SVC 85
- FVC 82
- FEV1 72
- FEV1/FVC% 61
- DLCO 18
Which is the patient’s disease?
- Pulmonary Fibrosis
- Asthma
- Emphysema
- Myasthenia gravis
The correct answer is 3. The FEV1 and FEV1/ FVC make it obstructive (FEV1/FVC <75% and FEV1 <80%) Asthma is also an obstructive disorder but emphysema is the only obstructive disorder that has a decreased DLCO.