Respiratory drive in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Respiratory drive (deltaP 0.1/deltaPCO2) and ventilatory response (deltaVE/deltaPCO2) to CO2 has been estimated in 20 normal subjects and 28 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In patients with COPD, drive and ventilatory response to CO2 were diminished, but no statistical correlation with FEV1, MBC, TLC, FRC, RV/TLC was found. A statistically negative correlation was found between blood bicarbonate and drive or ventilatory response to CO2. Patients with emphysema and normal PaCO2 demonstrated normal deltaP 0.1/deltaPCO2. In contrast, patients with chronic bronchitis with the same pulmonary function abnormalities and hypercapnia had significant diminution of the deltaP 0.1/deltaPCO2. Therefore, we feel that pulmonary function abnormalities alone cannot explain the deltaP 0.1/deltaPCO2 decrease; in most cases there sould coexist a diminished respiratory sensitivity.