Aggiornamento sulla standardizzazione e l'interpretazione della spirometria nell'adulto e in età pediatrica per lo specialista in Allergologia ed Immunologia Clinica

The specialist in Allergy and Clinical Immunology is frequently involved in the diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of Respiratory Diseases. For this reason this specialist has to know the indications of Spirometry and the limits of Office Spirometry. This means to know when Lung Volumes and CO Diffusion Capacity are to be measured and to be able to obtain a clinical interpretation of the results. Therefore the target of this short review is to provide the specialist in Allergy and Clinical Immunology with the basis for evaluating the quality of Office Spirometry and interpreting its results, as stated by the American Thoracic Society and European Respiratory Society Task Force in 2005. We hope that this approach would improve the interaction with the Laboratory of Respiratory Physiopathology in the management of asthma and autoimmune diseases with respiratory involvement.