{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.052, 'fraction_numerical': 0.034666666666666665, 'mean_word_length': 5.05241935483871, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Profile of Respiratory Impairment in Patients With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis at Initial Admittance

PurposeTo evaluate the initial respiratory impairments [pulmonary functions and arterial blood gases (ABGs)] in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) according to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-R) at the time of admission. MethodForty-five patients with ALS were evaluated between January 2004 and December 2007 by pulmonary function tests (PFTs) and ABG results at the time of admission. ALSFRS-R was used to quantify the severity of ALS patients. ALS patients were divided into 2 subgroups according to their ALSFRS-R scores as equal or below 26 (group 1, moderate-severe) and above 26 (group 2, mild). PFTs and ABG results were compared between these 2 subgroups. ResultsAs 13 of the 45 patients with ALS were unable to perform PFTs, data of only 32 patients were evaluated (n=7 for group 1, n=25 for group 2). PFTs and ABG results except for forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1)/forced vital capacity (FVC) % (P=0.003) and partial arterial oxygen tension (pO2) (P=0.02) did not differ significantly between the 2 groups. While FEV1/FVC (r=−0.42, P=0.01) was negatively correlated with ALSFRS-R score, pO2 (r=0.36, P=0.02) was positively correlated. ConclusionsWe thought that the increase in FEV1/FVC (%) was more susceptible for reflecting early respiratory impairments than FVC (%) in ALS patients at the initial admittance.