Backgroulld. Spiromctry i~ Lltkn ncedcd to idcnti ry COPD, and it is mandatory in determining the sevcrity of thc disca~e. Our aim is to udermine the agrccment bctwccn the FEV I/FEV6 ratio and the FEVI/FVC ratio in elderly paticnts during. the preoperative assessment.
Patiellts & Methods: The study sample consisted of 387 participants in A lain Hospital, UAE aged 60 years or more, in whom acceptable spiromctry had been obtained. Mean differences between the FEV I/FEV6 ratio (%) and the FEVI/FVC ratio (%) were calculated according to age, sex, smoking habit, and the degrcc of airflow limitation. ROC-curve analysis and Kappa-statistics were used to estimate the utility of the FEVI/FEV(, ratio in predicting an FEV/FVC ratio < 70%. The mean difference between FEV liFEV6% and FEV/FVC% was 2.7% in both men and women.
Results: The difference betwcen the two mcasurcs increased somewhat with increasing age, and was more pronounced with smoking and decreasing FEV /FVC ratio. The value for the FEV/FEV6 ratio which best predicted an FEVI/FVC ratio of 70%, was 73%, and a very good agreement was found between these two cut-off values (kappa = 0.86).
COllclusioll: The FEVI/FEV(> ratio appears to bc a good substitute for the FEV/FVC ratio in an elderly population during thc prcoperative assessment.