[Standardization by arm span of lung function tests in the elderly]

Kypho(scolio)sis in the elderly is known to cause body height reduction, and this may result in inaccurate estimation in the calculation of various predicted values based on body height in lung function test. A total of 91 patients without any known cardiopulmonary diseases were studied for the relationship between body height, arm span and predicted values of lung function tests. In addition, the kyphotic angle was evaluated for the quantitative assessment of the kyphosis. Our results showed that kyphoscoliosis in the elderly resulted in under- or overstimulation of an average of 1.2-3.9% when the arm span was used instead of the body height to obtain the predicted value of vital capacity. Furthermore, there was no significant correlation among the following parameters: the severity of kyphosis, body height or arm span and age. The arm span showed a good correlation with the body height. From these observations, it was concluded that instead of the body height the arm span could be used for calculating the predicted value on lung function tests as a more convenient methods in bed-ridden patients.