THE SITE OF AIRWAY OBSTRUCTION IN CYSTIC FIBROSIS

[摘要] Evidence has been presented that some patients with cystic fibrosis have significant amounts of obstruction to the ventilation of portions of lung, as indicated by tests of the distribution of ventilation, but they have little or no evidence of obstruction by conventional measurements of airway resistance.1-5 This discrepancy may be attributed to the fact that various tests of pulmonary function differ in sensitivity with respect to small and large airway obstruction. It is the purpose of the present Commentary to summarize the evidence for this hypothesis and to suggest that differences in the extent to which measurements of airway resistance and distribution of ventilation are altered in patients with cystic fibrosis may be used to localize the site of obstruction and to follow the different stages in the natural history of the pulmonary disease.

[学科分类] 儿科学