Pulmonary hypertension is one of seven lung diseases identified as featuring a non-specific pattern of lung function, according to a recent study.
A number of individuals living with emphysema, small airways diseases, bronchial asthma, and some children with asthma exhibited disproportionately low forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) relative to the amount of air their lungs can hold.
Based on a study in BMC Pulmonary Medicine, non-specific pattern (NSP) of lung function, also known as small airway obstruction syndrome, was identified in patients with lung diseases. Cases of NSP were numbered at 841 of 12,775 patients studied. Seven lung diseases were the main players, including asthma, emphysema, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and sarcoidosis. Only 185 patients had NSP and indisputable nonoverlapping causes.
Armed with this information, clinicians who treat patients with asthma, COPD, emphysema, bronchiectasis, sarcoidosis, pulmonary hypertension, or interstitial pneumonia after bilateral lung transplantation may want to measure static lung volume using a technique such as body plethysmography to determine if a patient has NSP.
