Indications of Pulmonary Function Test

 Evaluate respiratory symptoms, signs ,and correlate with abnormal laboratory or radiographic findings
 Assist in diagnosing respiratory diseases
 Monitor respiratory disease activity and response to therapy
 Determine respiratory disease prognosis
 Evaluate the pulmonary effects of occupations, environmental and drug exposures
 Provide objective assessment of impairment or disability
 Evaluate risk prior to lung resection surgery

(Murray and Nadel’s Textbook of Respiratory Medicine Clinical )

Goals of PFT:

 To categorize the physiological impairment from lung disease (obstructive vs restrictive)

 To quantify the degree of functional impairment

 Spirometry results must be interpreted based on the ATS-ERS-TFLFT2

suggested algorithm.

Comments:

1. The FEV1/FVC is low (using a fixed cut-off value of 0.70 as the lower limit of normality).

2. Post bronchodilator testing was done and the patient had a 6% improvement. The patient had no significant response
to bronchodilator.

3. The severity of the obstructive ventilatory defect is moderately severe, based on the post bronchodilator FEV1 %
predicted of 58%.

Interpretation of Spirometry findings:

Moderately severe obstructive ventilatory defect with no significant response to bronchodilator.