October 2009

AARC Congress Coming Up Soon; Program Online Now
The AARC will be heading to San Antonio this Dec. 5–8, and if the Advance Program is any indication, it should be a great meeting for diagnosticians. We’ll hear leading professionals address some of the hottest topics in our area of care, including quality assurance standards in the PFT arena, and we’ll also learn more about what our colleagues around the country are doing during diagnostic-specific Open Forums. So check out the program, and then register by Oct. 31 for earlybird savings. 

FENO and EBC pH as Noninvasive Markers
University of Virginia researchers who looked at fraction of expired nitric oxide (FENO) and exhaled breath condensate (EBC) pH as noninvasive markers of airway inflammation in asthma patients undergoing inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) therapy dose adjustments find FENO rose significantly with ICS withdrawal and EBC pH fell more significantly in subjects who had an exacerbation than in those who did not. Among the 13 patients who completed the protocol, seven weaned off ICS completely and six had an exacerbation. The report appeared in the Sept. 25 Epub edition of Respiration. READ ABSTRACT

Study Suggests New Correction Factor for Asian-Americans
A new study out of Columbia University Medical Center suggests a correction factor of 0.88 applied to the predicted and LLN values for Asian-Americans is more appropriate than the 0.94 currently stated in the NHANES III reference values. The investigators reached that conclusion after reviewing prebonchodilator spirometry results from 1,068 non-Hispanic white, African-American, Hispanic, and Asian-American nonsmoking participants of the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. The NHANES III race-specific reference equations were found to be valid for the other ethnic groups in the study. The research appeared in the Sept. 9 Epub edition of CHEST. READ ABSTRACT

Calculate Lung Ages to Help People Quit
Using NHANES III spirometric data to calculate the odds that specific ratios of %FEV1/FEV6 to %FEV1/FVC values came from current- or never-smokers, California researchers found increasing odds that smoking decreases %FEV1/FEV6 and %FEV1/FVC over each decade of life. They conclude Deltalung ages can be easily calculated as the product of (predicted-actual) %FEV1/FEV6 times 4 or (predicted-actual) %FEV1/FVC times 3. “Using odds and Deltalung ages rather than traditional 95% confidence limits might better persuade smokers to quit,” they write. The study was published in the Sept. 24 Epub edition of the European Respiratory Journal. READ ABSTRACT 

Mask Modification Allows NIPPV During Bronchoscopy
Noting hypoxemia increases the risk of complications in patients undergoing bronchoscopy, and noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) may prevent hypoxemia, Dutch researchers modified a commercially available full face mask to allow introduction of a bronchoscope without interfering with the ventilator circuit. They tested the mask on 12 hypoxemic patients undergoing bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage. Oxygenation improved after initiation of NIPPV, and the procedure was completed without subsequent complications in all 12 patients. The investigators published their findings in the Sept. 23 Epub edition of Intensive Care Medicine. READ ABSTRACT