TY - JOUR T1 - Physiological techniques for detecting expiratory flow limitation during tidal breathing JF - European Respiratory Review JO - EUROPEAN RESPIRATORY REVIEW SP - 147 LP - 155 DO - 10.1183/09059180.00001911 VL - 20 IS - 121 AU - N.G. Koulouris AU - G. Hardavella Y1 - 2011/09/01 UR - http://err.ersjournals.com/content/20/121/147.abstract N2 - Patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) often exhale along the same flow–volume curve during quiet breathing as they do during the forced expiratory vital capacity manoeuvre, and this has been taken as an indicator of expiratory flow limitation at rest (EFLT). Therefore, EFLT, namely attainment of maximal expiratory flow during tidal expiration, occurs when an increase in transpulmonary pressure causes no increase in expiratory flow. EFLT leads to small airway injury and promotes dynamic pulmonary hyperinflation, with concurrent dyspnoea and exercise limitation. In fact, EFLT occurs commonly in COPD patients (mainly in Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease III and IV stage), in whom the latter symptoms are common, but is not exclusive to COPD, since it can also be detected in other pulmonary and nonpulmonary diseases like asthma, acute respiratory distress syndrome, heart failure and obesity, etc. The existing up to date physiological techniques of assessing EFLT are reviewed in the present work. Among the currently available techniques, the negative expiratory pressure has been validated in a wide variety of settings and disorders. Consequently, it should be regarded as a simple, noninvasive, practical and accurate new technique. ER -