Lung Body Plethysmography: From Functional to Clinical Aspects for Prediction of Quality of Life in Patients with Chronic Pulmonary Obstruction

We analyze the lung function using advanced measurement (body plethysmography) and standard measurement (spirometry) in stable COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) patients. Subjects and methods: 211 patients with stable COPD (88.6% males) age 61 5 years (mean standard deviation), exsmokers 78.7%, underwent to: body pletysmography , spirometry, electrocardiography. Parameters obtained: residual volume (RV), forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), were correlated with different parameters and also for prediction of quality of life in COPD patients. In assessing the quality of life we used the St. George s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ). According to BMI (body mass index) we classify patients in four groups: 1. underweight ([ 20, n = 34), 2. normal weight (20-24, n = 79), 3. overweight (25-29.9, n = 58), 4. obese ( ]30, n = 40), n = number of patients.