ATS Pulmonary Function Laboratory Manual

ATS Pulmonary Function Laboratory Management & Procedure Manual | 3rd Edition

Effective Date: 2014 Version #1

Chapter 20

Procedure Name: Reference Equations and Interpretation Guidelines

Purpose Interpretation of pulmonary function (PF) tests involves comparisons of measured values with respect to a healthy reference population and assessment of data reliability. The policies and processes for selection of reference values and interpretation of data provide consistency. The consequences of false-positive and false-negative errors are con- sidered in the interpretative process. The referring physician should not be led to infer a change in the condition of the patient because of a change in the approach to the interpretation of the data. The measured lung function values are integrated by the requesting physician into the diagnosis, therapy, and prognosis for an individual patient.

Responsibility The PF laboratory medical director is responsible for selecting the appropriate reference values and developing the process and procedures for interpretation of lung function tests.

Selection of Appropriate Reference Values 1. Criteria for selection (1–4) 1.1.

Obtain reference values from studies that used equipment that meets or exceeds American Thoracic Society (ATS)/European Respiratory Society (ERS) recommendations, if possible. 1.2. Selected studies should represent data obtained by technicians and protocols with performance standards that are consistent with ATS/ERS recommendations. 1.3. The reference population should match the test population as closely as possible, with respect to age, gender, height, and ethnic composition. 1.4. The technical aspects of the testing for the reference population study (instrumentation and proce- dures) should be comparable to those used in the laboratory. 1.5. Select all equations from the same reference set, so that one reference study is used for all param- eters, if possible.

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