PFT Results

[niteangel2]

Can anyone help me understand my PFT numbers?  39/female/smoker/5ft tall/white (including these in case they are important, since they entered them into the machine).  These are from the %Pred column:  

FVC 136
FEV1 136
FEV1% 99
FEF25-75  145
PEF 143

Also, I've seen on the web that you aren't supposed to use inhalers for 6 hours before PFT.  Not sure if that is correct, but I had 1 puff (not the full dose of 3 puffs) of Combivent about 4 1/2 or 5 hours before the test.  Would that make the numbers completely unreliable?  Seems like it wouldn't have that much affect, but I'm hoping someone knows.  Do I need to retake?

Your advice would be very much appreciated.

[niteangel2]

Thanks very much.  I was actually so concerned about the inhaler use that I spoke to my doctor.  He said that one puff 4 or 5 hours before the PFT wouldn't make much of a difference, if any at all.

So, I'm good.  :)  I'm going to start my Chantix again to quit smoking - I'm so relieved that my lungs are still healthy and need to quit while they are.  

[Sunny602]

Those are awesome numbers if these are expressed in percentages :)! What it means it that for your height, gender and even being a smoker that your numbers are above what is predicted for you. Your FEV1, which means how much air you can move forcefully over one second is at 136% of predicted. Your FVC, which is the amount of air you can blow completely out of your lungs forcefully after taking in as big a breath as you can(you probably remember blowing out until you could not squeak any more air out) is sitting at 136% of predicted. The FEV1/FVC ratio is 99%, also great. This value determines if there is obstruction/restriction of your lungs. By looking at those values, they look good.. The FEF 25-75  (forced expiratory flow) value looks for small airways disease (seen in asthma, advanced COPD), again, yours are great at 145% of predicted. PEF (peak expiratory flow) measures the speed at which you are exhaling at...yours is at 143% of predicted. This value is often reduced in lung diseases such as emphysema or other obstructive diseases.
I hope that this helps, remember, I am not a doctor..the best person to talk to about these are with your doctor as he or she knows your history best and can correlate the tests with that along with examination findings. But, like I said, if these values are represented in percentages, they look pretty good.
Sunny