[Pulmonary function tests in the family doctor's office]

Abstract

The basic diagnostic work-up including history-taking, clinical findings, and simple functional tests alone, suffices to enable the family doctor to rapidly differentiate between an obstructive and a restrictive pulmonary disease. This in particular by determining the "Tiffenau index", the ratio of the forced expiratory volume FEV1 to the forced vital capacity FVC (FEV1/ FVC). The question as to whether an obstructive condition is due to COPD or bronchial asthma is decided on the basis of the bronchospasmolytic test to determine the reversibility of the airways obstruction.