The lower limit of normal versus a fixed ratio to assess airflow limitation: will the debate ever end?. Issue 3 (29th March 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Smith, Lewis J.
• Is Part Of: European respiratory journal. Volume 51:Issue 3(2018)
• Publication Date: 2018-03-29
• Subjects: Respiratory organs -- Diseases -- Periodicals; Respiration -- Periodicals; 616.2
• DOI: 10.1183/13993003.00403-2018
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0903-1936

Abstract

A normal test result is typically differentiated from an abnormal result by identifying those values that fall within (normal) and outside (abnormal) the 95% confidence interval for that test, after the test is evaluated in healthy individuals from the intended population. This approach acknowledges that 5% of a normal population will have an abnormal test result and some individuals with a normal test result will have the disease the test is designed to identify. Such trade-offs are common in the practice of medicine. Identifying airflow limitation using an FEV1 /FVC less than 0.70 in a general population of young adults can no longer be justified http://ow.ly/MRzo30iWja5