Synonyms
Carbon monoxide uptake; Diffusing capacity
Definition
DLCO stands for diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide. It provides a measurement for carbon monoxide (CO) transfer from the airways, across the alveolar-capillary membrane, into the pulmonary capillaries, and across the red blood cell membrane where CO then binds to hemoglobin (Hegewald and Crapo 2010).
Background
Conditions associated with an abnormal DLCO include interstitial lung disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and pulmonary vascular disease (see Table 1). The test is typically performed in subjects using an office spirometer, a gas analyzer, and a source of test gas. The most common technique utilized is a single-breath maneuver where the subject inhales rapidly to total lung capacity (TLC) using only minimal effort and then holds their breath for approximately 10 seconds (MacIntyre et al. 2005).
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References
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MacIntyre N, Crapo RO, Viegi G, Johnson DC, van der Grinten CPM, Brusasco V, et al. Standardisation of the single-breath determination of carbon monoxide uptake in the lung. Eur Respir J. 2005;26:720–35.
Pellegrino R, Viegi G, Brusasco V, Crapo RO, Burgos F, Casaburi R, et al. Interpretive strategies for lung function tests. Eur Respir J. 2005;26:948–68.
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Searing, D.A. (2014). Testing: DLCO. In: Mackay, I.R., Rose, N.R., Ledford, D.K., Lockey, R.F. (eds) Encyclopedia of Medical Immunology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9194-1_509
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