ABSTRACT
Reduced carbon monoxide diffusing capacity (DLCO) is a frequent and often isolated pulmonary physiological abnormality in patients with chronic renal failure. In 20 patients with chronic renal failure who had normal spirometry (FEV1 and FVC greater than 80% of predicted) and near normal chest roentgenograms (three had mild cardiomegaly), the DLCO was significantly reduced compared to values obtained from 25 healthy laboratory staff and renal transplant donors. DLCO and diffusing capacity standardized for alveolar volume (KCO) remained reduced after correction for anaemia. No relationship between anaemia and severity of reduction of DLCO was demonstrated. These observations suggest that in addition to anaemia and ventilatory abnormalities, there may be other factors causing a reduced DLCO in chronic renal failure.
Subject(s)
Kidney Failure, Chronic/physiopathology , Pulmonary Diffusing Capacity , Adult , Carbon Monoxide/physiology , Female , Humans , MaleABSTRACT
Because breathing low-density helium-oxygen gas mixture has been reported as improving ventilatory mechanics in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients and reducing the oxygen cost of ventilation in exercising normal subjects, it might prove useful in COPD physical conditioning programs. 7 COPD patients performed incremental exercise to tolerance while breathing either air on 79% helium-21% oxygen mixture. There was a tendency for low-density gas breathing to stimulate a higher ventilation at any given work load. As a result there was a tendency to greater tolerance with air breathing. Throughout exercise there was no statistically significant difference in endurance, oxygen consumption, heart rate, or ventilatory parameters suggesting that the helium-oxygen mixture was not beneficial to exercise performance.
