Good resource for information on pulmonary function including:

- Static & Dynamic
Spirometry
- Lung Volumes
- Lung Diffusing Capacity
- Airways Resistance
- Bronchial Provocation
Testing
- Pulmonary Function
Tests

Check it out HERE

Spirometry is a physiological test that measures how an individual inhales or exhales volumes of air as a function of time. The primary signal measured in spirometry may be

volume or flow.

Spirometry is invaluable as a screening test of general respiratory health in the same way that blood pressure provides important information about general cardiovascular

health. However, on its own, spirometry does not lead clinicians directly to an aetiological diagnosis.Respiratory Society (ERS) [5]. There are generally only minor

differences between the two most recent ATS and ERS statements, except that the ERS statement includes absolute lung volumes and the ATS does not.

Read PDF below

ATS criteria for spirometry

Guillain-Barré Syndrome is the leading cause of nontraumatic acute paralysis in industrialized countries. About 30% of patients have RESPIRATORY failure requiring intensive care unit (ICU) admission and invasive mechanical ventilation. Progressive weakness of both the inspiratory and the expiratory muscles is the mechanism leading to respiratory failure. Aspiration pneumonia and atelectasis are common consequences of the bulbar muscle weakness and ineffective cough.

From the Department of Neurology at the Mayo Clinic, there appears to be diagnostic and clinical techniques in deciding when/if a patient requires admission to the I.C.U.

In the study ( from Vol. 58 No. 6, June 2001 Archives of Neurology) 114 patients with GBS who were admitted to the Intensive Care unit were studied.
In summery the results they found were the following:

Those requiring mechanical ventilation were found to have bilateral facial weakness, or dysautonomia, and bulbar dysfunction. Spirometry values indicated concern with VC <20 ml/kg, MIP ,30 cmH20 and a maximum expiratory pressure of <40 cmH20.

Heliox has a lower density than that of air and therefore aids in the distribution of aerosolized particles such as salbutamol into the distal airways in asthmatics due in part to laminar flow.
But heliox has also been found to be beneficial in patients with COPD.
In the November issue of the Journal of Applied Physiology, a group of researchers found that exercise tolerance improves significantly in patients suffering from COPD.

You can read more about their findings here.

Despite its increasing cost, the following study found a benefit in its use both in improved spirometry values, and in improved airflow.

You can find a pdf version of the article printed in the “American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine Vol 165. pp. 1317-1321, (2002)
© 2002 American Thoracic Society” Download

Asthma Management

Under the leadership of the Asthma Committee of the Canadian Thoracic Society, a group of respirologists, pediatricians, immunoallergists and emergency and family physicians met at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., from 28 to 31 May 1998, to review Canadian recommendations for the best management of asthma.

To read more about the treatment of asthma, I point you to the CMAJ consensus report.