scholarly journals Does the nitrogen single-breath washout test contribute to detecting pulmonary involvement in rheumatoid arthritis? A pilot study

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Jauhar Cardoso Bessa ◽  
Felipe de Miranda Carbonieri Ribeiro ◽  
Geraldo da Rocha Castelar Pinheiro ◽  
Agnaldo José Lopes

Abstract Objective There has been growing interest in studying small airway disease through measures of ventilation distribution, thanks to the resurgence of the nitrogen single-breath washout (N2SBW) test. Therefore, this study evaluated the contribution of the N2SBW test to the detection of pulmonary involvement in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Results Twenty-one patients with RA underwent clinical evaluation, pulmonary function tests (PFTs), including the N2SBW test, and computed tomography (CT). The main tomographic findings were air trapping and bronchiectasis (57.1% and 23.8% of cases, respectively). According to the phase III slope of the N2SBW (phase III slope), 11 and 10 patients had values < 120% predicted and > 120% predicted, respectively. Five patients with limited involvement on CT had a phase III slope > 120%. The residual volume/total lung capacity ratio was significantly different between patients with phase III slopes < 120% and > 120% (P = 0.024). Additionally, rheumatoid factor positivity was higher in patients with a phase III slope > 120% (P = 0.021). In patients with RA and airway disease on CT, the N2SBW test detects inhomogeneity in the ventilation distribution in approximately half of the cases, even in those with normal conventional PFT results.

1984 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. S. Hurst ◽  
B. L. Graham ◽  
D. J. Cotton

We studied 10 symptom-free lifetime non-smokers and 17 smokers all with normal pulmonary function studies. All subjects performed single-breath N2 washout tests by either exhaling slowly (“slow maneuver”) from end inspiration (EI) to residual volume (RV) or exhaling maximally (“fast maneuver”) from EI to RV. After either maneuver, subjects then slowly inhaled 100% O2 to total lung capacity (TLC) and without breath holding, exhaled slowly back to RV. In the nonsmokers seated upright phase III slope of single-breath N2 test (delta N2/l) was lower (P less than 0.01) for the fast vs. the slow maneuver, but this difference disappeared when the subjects repeated the maneuvers in the supine position. In contrast, delta N2/l was higher for the fast vs. the slow maneuver (P less than 0.01) in smokers seated upright. For the slow maneuver, delta N2/l was similar between smokers and nonsmokers but for the fast maneuvers delta N2/l was higher in smokers than nonsmokers (P less than 0.01). We suggest that the fast exhalation to RV decreases delta N2/l in normal subjects by decreasing apex-to-base differences in regional ratio of RV to TLC (RV/TLC) but increases delta N2/l in smokers, because regional RV/TLC increases distal to sites of small airways obstruction when the expiratory flow rate is increased.


1980 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. R. Sorenson ◽  
N. E. Robinson

Quasi-static pressure-volume curves and single-breath nitrogen washouts were performed simultaneously on eight anesthetized horses (average body wt = 485 kg) in left lateral, right lateral, prone, and supine postures (sequence randomized). The shift from prone to lateral or supine posture decreased expiratory reserve volume (ERV), vital capacity (VC), residual volume (RV), functional residual capacity (FRC), and total lung capacity (TLC); RV and FRC expressed as %TLC were unchanged, suggesting that in the lateral and supine postures a significant portion of the lung volume was not recruited by VC maneuvers. Phase III slope increased from 0.13 %N2/l in prone horses to 0.34 %N2/l in the lateral and supine positions. The onset of phase IV was not significantly different from FRC in the prone or laterally recombent animal, but exceeded FRC in the supine horse. The sequence of body positions had no effect on any of our results indicating that all changes in lung volumes and regional asynchronous ventilation c;n be reversed by placing the horse in the prone posture. The reduction in lung volume and increased asynchronous ventilation in the lateral and supine horse suggests that impaired gas exchange in anesthetized horses is predominantly related to posture, and not general anesthesia.


1989 ◽  
Vol 66 (6) ◽  
pp. 2502-2510 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. B. Crawford ◽  
D. J. Cotton ◽  
M. Paiva ◽  
L. A. Engel

To examine the effect of preinspiratory lung volume (PILV) on ventilation distribution, we performed multiple-breath N2 washouts (MBNW) in seven normal subjects breathing 1-liter tidal volumes over a wide range of PILV above closing capacity. We measured the following two independent indexes of ventilation distribution from the MBNW: 1) the normalized phase III slope of the final breaths of the washout (Snf) and 2) the alveolar mixing efficiency during that portion of the washout where 80–90% of the lung N2 had been cleared. Three of the subjects also performed single-breath N2 washouts (SBNW) by inspiring 1-liter breaths and expiring to residual volume at PILV = functional residual capacity (FRC), FRC + 1.0, and FRC - 0.5, respectively. From the SBNW we measured the phase III slope over the expired volume ranges of 0.75–1.0, 1.0–1.6, and 1.6–2.2 liters (S0.75, S1.0, and S1.6, respectively). Between a PILV of 0.92 +/- 0.09 (SE) liter above FRC and a PILV of 1.17 +/- 0.43 liter below FRC, Snf decreased by 61% (P less than 0.001) and alveolar mixing efficiency increased from 80 to 85% (P = 0.05). In addition, Snf and alveolar mixing efficiency were negatively correlated (r = 0.74). In contrast, over a similar volume range, S1.0 and S1.6 were greater at lower PILV. We conclude that, during tidal breathing in normal subjects, ventilation distribution becomes progressively more inhomogeneous at higher lung volumes over a range of volumes above closing capacity.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thao Thi Ho ◽  
Taewoo Kim ◽  
Woo Jin Kim ◽  
Chang Hyun Lee ◽  
Kum Ju Chae ◽  
...  

AbstractChronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a respiratory disorder involving abnormalities of lung parenchymal morphology with different severities. COPD is assessed by pulmonary-function tests and computed tomography-based approaches. We introduce a new classification method for COPD grouping based on deep learning and a parametric-response mapping (PRM) method. We extracted parenchymal functional variables of functional small airway disease percentage (fSAD%) and emphysema percentage (Emph%) with an image registration technique, being provided as input parameters of 3D convolutional neural network (CNN). The integrated 3D-CNN and PRM (3D-cPRM) achieved a classification accuracy of 89.3% and a sensitivity of 88.3% in five-fold cross-validation. The prediction accuracy of the proposed 3D-cPRM exceeded those of the 2D model and traditional 3D CNNs with the same neural network, and was comparable to that of 2D pretrained PRM models. We then applied a gradient-weighted class activation mapping (Grad-CAM) that highlights the key features in the CNN learning process. Most of the class-discriminative regions appeared in the upper and middle lobes of the lung, consistent with the regions of elevated fSAD% and Emph% in COPD subjects. The 3D-cPRM successfully represented the parenchymal abnormalities in COPD and matched the CT-based diagnosis of COPD.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1976 ◽  
Vol 58 (4) ◽  
pp. 537-541
Author(s):  
J. O. O. Commey ◽  
Henry Levison

In 62 children with bronchial asthma, the presence of subjective dyspnea and wheeze, and some physical signs commonly associated with chronic obstructive airway disease in older patients, were compared with results of routine pulmonary function tests. Overall, airway resistance and the relationships of residual volume and functional residual capacity to total lung capacity were increased and other measurements of pulmonary function were moderately decreased. The time-honored subjective dyspnea, wheeze, rhonchi, and prolonged expiration were least useful as indices of severity of disease. Most of the patients, particularly those in whom laboratory testing revealed marked impairment, had notable rhonchi, prolonged expiration, scalene muscle and sternocleidomastoid contraction, and supraclavicular indrawing. Only sternocleidomastoid contraction and supraclavicular indrawing clearly correlated with the severity of airway obstruction. A call is made for a search for these useful signs, whose presence may be the only clue to moderately severe disease; however, their absence does not guarantee absence of severe airway obstruction.


Chest Imaging ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 343-347
Author(s):  
Felipe Martínez

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a progressive chronic systemic autoimmune disorder characterized by symmetric deforming erosive synovitis. Pulmonary involvement may occur in 18% of all patients with RA, is one of the most common extra-articular manifestations of the disease and is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. The most common pleuropulmonary manifestations of RA are rheumatoid-associated interstitial lung disease (RA-ILD), drug related lung disease, infection secondary to immunosuppression, necrobiotic nodules, organizing pneumonia, upper and lower airway disease, pulmonary vascular disease and serositis. A normal chest radiograph does not exclude RA-ILD. As disease progresses, radiographic abnormalities may become more apparent. Thin-section or high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) remains the study of choice to assess RA-ILD. Patients with RA-ILD have a slightly increased incidence of lung cancer, and radiologists must carefully scrutinize images looking for discrete nodules and masses.


2002 ◽  
Vol 92 (3) ◽  
pp. 1232-1238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher N. Mills ◽  
Chantal Darquenne ◽  
G. Kim Prisk

We studied the effects on aerosol bolus inhalations of small changes in convective inhomogeneity induced by posture change from upright to supine in nine normal subjects. Vital capacity single-breath nitrogen washout tests were used to determine ventilatory inhomogeneity change between postures. Relative to upright, supine phase III slope was increased 33 ± 11% (mean ± SE, P < 0.05) and phase IV height increased 25 ± 11% ( P < 0.05), consistent with an increase in convective inhomogeneity likely due to increases in flow sequencing. Subjects also performed 0.5-μm-particle bolus inhalations to penetration volumes (Vp) between 150 and 1,200 ml during a standardized inhalation from residual volume to 1 liter above upright functional residual capacity. Mode shift (MS) in supine posture was more mouthward than upright at all Vp, changing by 11.6 ml at Vp = 150 ml ( P < 0.05) and 38.4 ml at Vp = 1,200 ml ( P < 0.05). MS and phase III slope changes correlated positively at deeper Vp. Deposition did not change at any Vp, suggesting that deposition did not cause the MS change. We propose that the MS change results from increased sequencing in supine vs. upright posture.


1987 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 1179-1185 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. B. Filuk ◽  
N. R. Anthonisen

Twelve stable adult asthmatics slowly inhaled boluses of He at 20, 40, or 60% vital capacity (VC); these volumes were achieved either by expiring from total lung capacity (TLC) or by inspiring from residual volume (RV). Inspirations were continued to TLC and then were followed by slow expirations to RV while expired He was measured as a function of expired volume. At 20% VC slopes of alveolar plateaus (phase III) were positive, at 40% VC they were flat, and at 60% VC they were negative; at 20 and 60% VC the slopes were steeper than those in normals. When boluses were administered at 40 and 60% VC, He washout curves were independent of lung volume history. However at 20% VC the slope of phase III was significantly less positive when boluses were given after inspiration from RV than after expiration from TLC. In eight subjects, who were given inhaled beta-agonists, slopes of all He washouts decreased and became independent of volume history at 20% VC. We conclude that in asthmatics at low lung volumes the airways that determine ventilation distribution behave as though they have less hysteresis than the lung parenchyma probably due to increased airway tone.


1988 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 1527-1536 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. S. Kim ◽  
G. A. Lewars ◽  
M. A. Sackner

Total aerosol deposition in the lung was measured in 100 subjects with various lung conditions. The subjects consisted of 40 normals (N), 15 asymptomatic smokers (S), 10 smokers with small airway disease (SAD), 20 with chronic simple bronchitis (SB), and 15 with chronic obstructive bronchitis (COPD), and a relationship of total aerosol deposition to degree of lung abnormality was investigated. The subjects were categorized by medical history and a battery of pulmonary function tests, including spirometry, body plethysmography, and single and multiple N2 washout measurements. Subjects repeatedly breathed a monodisperse test aerosol (1.0 micron diam) from a collapsible rebreathing bag (0.5 liter volume) at a rate of 30 breaths/min, while inhaled and exhaled aerosol concentrations were continuously monitored by a laser aerosol photometer in situ and recorded on a strip-chart recorder. The number of rebreathing breaths resulting in 90% aerosol loss from the bag (N90) was determined, and percent predicted N90 values were then determined from the results of computer simulation and used as a deposition index. The percent predicted N90 values were 99.7 +/- 14, 86.5 +/- 15, 66.9 +/- 17, 51 +/- 12, and 30.9 +/- 9, respectively, for N, S, SAD, SB, and COPD. All of these values were significantly different from each other (P less than 0.05). There was no difference between male and female but percent predicted N90 values were slightly higher in young than in old normals. Percent predicted N90 values showed a strong linear correlation with spirometric measurements of forced expiratory volume in 1 s and maximum midexpiratory flow rate. However, many of the SAD and SB with normal spirometry showed abnormal N90. These results suggest that total lung aerosol deposition is a sensitive index of lung abnormality and may be of potential use for nonspecific general patient screening.


1996 ◽  
Vol 80 (4) ◽  
pp. 1126-1132 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. K. Prisk ◽  
A. M. Lauzon ◽  
S. Verbanck ◽  
A. R. Elliot ◽  
H. J. Guy ◽  
...  

We performed single-breath wash-in tests for He and SF6 in four subjects exposed to 14 days of microgravity (microG) during the Spacelab flight Spacelab Life Sciences-2. Subjects inspired a vital capacity breath of 5% He-1.25% SF6-balance O2 and then exhaled to residual volume at 0.5l/s. The tests were also performed with a 10-s breath hold at the end of inspiration. Measurements were also made with the subjects standing and supine in 1 G. Phase III slope was measured after the dead-space washout and before the onset of airway closure. In all subjects in 1 G, whether standing or supine, phase III slope for SF6 was significantly steeper than that for He. However, in microG, the slopes became the same. Furthermore, after breath holding in microG, the SF6 slopes were significantly flatter than those for He. On return to 1 G, the changes were reversed, and there was no difference between preflight and postflight values. Because most of the phase III slope reflects events occurring in the acinar regions of the lung, the results suggest that microG causes conformational changes in the acini or changes in cardiogenic mixing in the lung periphery, but in either case the mechanism is unclear.


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