Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: prospective study on respiratory parameters
OBJECTIVE: To verify how efficient respiratory parameters are in the follow-up of subjects with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and to observe possible correlations between respiratory and nutritional functions. METHOD: Sixteen patients with probable or defined ALS were selected and evaluated over eight months using the following respiratory parameters: spirometry, maximum inspiratory pressure (MIP), maximum expiratory pressure (MEP), arterial gasometry and pulse oximetry; and nutritional parameters such as body mass index (BMI) and percentage weight loss. RESULTS: PaCO2 was a significant parameter to follow up disease evolution (p=0.051). There was significant correlation between MIP and MEP (r: 0.83); BMI and MIP (r: 0.70); BMI and MEP (r: 0.72); pulse oximetry and forced vital capacity (r: 0.57). CONCLUSION: PaCO2 was shown to be an efficient and significant parameter in the measurement of respiratory impairment; the correlations among MIP, MEP and BMI indicated that these are significant parameters for periodic clinical evaluation.
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Digital revista |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Academia Brasileira de Neurologia - ABNEURO
2010
|
| Online Access: | http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0004-282X2010000200020 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|