Regional distribution of ventilation in chronic obstructive lung disease and the effect of salbutamol.

Regional distribution of ventilation was assessed in 5 normal volunteers, and 19 patients with symptomatic chronic obstructive lung disease (COAD) using the technique of gated lung ventilation imaging with 127Xe. The results of this technique were compared with the more conventional assessment of regional ventilation by analysis of 127Xe wash-out curves. Both techniques demonstrate loss of the normal gravitational distribution of ventilation in patients with severe COAD which is significantly reduced from normals in upper, middle and lower zones of each lung, being most marked in the lower zones (p less than 0.01). Gated lung imaging also shows a significant reduction of regional ventilation in patients with mild to moderate COAD compared to normals but only in the lower zones (p less than 0.05). Gated lung imaging provides a better quantitative method of assessing regional lung function than wash-out analysis and confirms loss of the normal gravitational distribution of ventilation in patients with obstructive lung disease and relates this to severity of disease. The distribution of ventilation was also assessed in 6 patients with severe COAD before and after placebo or salbutamol. There was a significant improvement of the distribution of ventilation to the lung bases after salbutamol (p less than 0.05).