[Alveolaro-capillary gas exchange. Considerations on the evaluation of carbon monoxide diffusion]

This study is based on 107 male individuals aged between 20 and 73 years, all of them exempt from any disease. They were submitted to instrument examination for measuring the CO pulmonary diffusing capacity with the single breath method. The data so obtained were then statistically elaborated considering the index value of CO transfer, the Helium partition (RHe) and the CO partition and diffusion (R&DCO). The CO transfer index has shown a particularly extensive range; if we take as normality level-20%, a consistent ratio of individuals (20,56%) falls in a range of deficitary pulmonary diffusion though in absence of aèny clinical evidence of pathology. The subsequent statistical elaboration of the data after logarithmic transformation, by the means of the linear regression model, has allowed to reduce the variance of the R&D CO index improving his classificative capability.