[Recommendation of new reference values for spirometry and body plethysmography]
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Updated: May 10, 2026

Conducting Respiratory Oscillometry in an Outpatient Setting
Published on: April 8, 2022
1Institut für Arbeitsmedizin, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany. Xaver.baur@charite.de
Background And Methods:
At the end of 2012, after 5 years of work, a task force of the ERS published new reference values for spirometry (mean values and Lower Limits of Normal, LLN) based on available studies, performed according to generally accepted quality criteria.
Results And Conclusions:
So far this is one of the most comprehensive work on reference values in pneumology (more than 74,000 healthy subjects, age range 3 to 95 years). These reference values are approximately 10 % higher (especially in the elderly population) than the still preferentially used ECCS reference values. It is recommended to combine and use them in combination with new reference values for body plethysmography by replacing the ECCS recommendations of 1983/1993 which show discrepancies to lung function data of our today population.
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