Assessing small airway disease in GLI versus NHANES III based spirometry using area under the expiratory flow-volume curve.

If the SAD diagnosis is established by using mean FEF50 LLN or a set number of predictive equations, AEX is able to differentiate well between various spirometric patterns. Using the most common predictive equations (NHANES III and GLI), the diagnostic concordance for functional type and obstruction severity is high.