2017 ERS/ATS standards for single-breath carbon monoxide uptake in the lung

Published: 20 January 2017

ATS/ERS published on the European Respiratory Journal an update to the 2005 technical standards for single-breath carbon monoxide uptake in the lung.

A joint taskforce appointed by the ERS and ATS reviewed the recent literature on the measurement of DLCO and surveyed the current technical capabilities of instrumentation being manufactured around the world. The recommendations in this document represent the consensus of the taskforce members in regard to the evidence available for various aspects of DLCO measurement.

The major changes in these technical standards relate to DLCO measurement with systems using rapidly responding gas analysers for carbon monoxide and the tracer gas, which are now the most common type of DLCO instrumentation being manufactured. Technical improvements and the increased capability afforded by these new systems permit enhanced measurement of DLCO and the opportunity to include other optional measures of lung function. Therefore, the main focus of these guidelines is on

Gas analysers and general equipment specifications and performance standards
Calculations
Evaluating the measurement of DLco

The article details are the following:

- Title: "2017 ERS/ATS standards for single-breath carbon monoxide uptake in the lung"
- Authors: Graham BL, Brusasco V, Burgos F, Cooper BG, Jensen R, Kendrick A, MacIntyre NR, Thompson BR, Wanger J
- Published in: Eur Respir J. 2017 Jan 3;49(1)

The study can be downloaded for free at the following link: click here