Airways resistance and specific conductance for the diagnosis of obstructive airways diseases
Respiratory Research Journal published a study on the importance of Airway resistance (RAW) and specific airway conductance (sGAW) measurements through body plethysmography.
This study, based on 975 patients tested, investigated the contribution of RAW and sGAW to a diagnosis of obstructive airways disease and their role in differentiating asthma from COPD.
The results show "sGAW to be a significant and independent predictor of an obstructive disorder. To differentiate asthma from COPD, RAW was found to be more relevant and statistically significant. In asthma patients with normal FEV1/FVC ratio, both RAW and sGAW were more specific than sensitive diagnostic tests in differentiating asthma from healthy subjects".
The study concludes that "RAW and sGAW are significant factors that contribute to the diagnosis and differentiation of obstructive airways diseases.".
The study is available free to download at the following link: click here
