Background: Because of its wealth in blood capillaries and conjunctive fabric the lung is a potential body targets of microvascular diabetic complications.
Aim: The purpose of this work is to evaluate the respiratory function among 23 diabetics patients, while being helped of measurements of volumes and respiratory flows as well as pulmonary broadcasting capacity of CO.
Methods: The measured parameters were the total pulmonary capacity (CPT), the vital capacity (CV), the functional residual capacity (CRF), residual volume (VR), maximum expiratory volume in 1 second (VEMS), the coefficient of Tiffeneau (VEMS/CV) and the expiratory flow of point (EPD). The pulmonary broadcasting capacity of carbon monoxide (DLCO) was measured.
Results: Residual volume (VR) was on average of 76.53 +/- 19.76% of the theoretical values, it was decreased among 12 patients. The functional residual capacity (CRF) on average of 86.11 +/- 19.47% of the theoretical values, found was decreased among 10 patients. The pulmonary diffusion (DLCO/VA), which varies approximately 10% with the change of position at the healthy subject, was normal in sitting position among studied patients (114.93 +/- 24.18%) and decreased only by 3.64 +/- 9.63% in position upright. Moreover, this variation was all the more weak as the rate of albuminuria was high.
Conclusion: Thus, the repercussions of the diabetes over the respiratory function exist, but remain often infraclinic because of the broad ventilatory reserve available to the human being. In addition, the absence of variation of DLCO/VA according to the position could constitute an invaluable index precociously to detect the lesions of the pulmonary capillary bed among patients presenting a nephropathy diabetic.