Objectives: To estimate the value of diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (T(LCO)) in patients with cystic fibrosis and to evaluate its ability to predict arterial desaturation during exercise.
Method: Fourty-four patients (9-30 years) with cystic fibrosis performed pulmonary function tests with measure of T(LCO) and a bicycle incremental exercise test. They represent a wide variation in disease severity: mean Shwachman score: 77.8 (range: 40-100), mean FEV1%: 72.8 (range: 17-131). This study investigated the relationship between T(LCO), lung volumes and exercise data.
Results: T(LCO) remained normal for a long time in patients with cystic fibrosis: 82% of them show a normal T(LCO) (mean value: 91.3% of predicted). T(LCO) was significantly correlated with FEV(1), residual volume, maximal work load and maximum oxygen uptake. A fall in arterial oxygen saturation was uncommon in our study (five patients) and not significantly correlated with T(LCO).
Conclusions: T(LCO) is a good criter of severity of cystic fibrosis but remains unreliable to predict values above which physical activity is safe, without arterial desaturation. Exercise tests should be proposed in order to evaluate exercise adaptation of each patient and determine which factor limits maximal performance.