The March 1, 2014 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine had an article on the use of the Lung Clearance Index (LCI) with bronchiectasis. The study showed that the LCI was as good as high-resolution computed tomography and more sensitive than FEV1 when assessing changes in airway status. This is one of the few articles I’ve seen on the LCI that was specifically about adults and wasn’t about cystic fibrosis.
So what is the LCI and how is it measured?
When lung tissue and airways are normal, inhaled gas is distributed evenly throughout the lung and the mixing and turnover of alveolar gas is relatively rapid. When airway obstruction is present gas distribution tends to becomes more uneven and the mixing and turnover takes longer. The Lung Clearance Index (LCI) is a way to measure these ventilation inhomogeneities and is basically a description of how much ventilation is required to completely clear the FRC. It was first described by Margaret Becklake in 1952 but has languished for many years. It has been revived in the last decade or so, particularly because it requires only tidal breathing which allows it to be measured in infants and children.
The measurement process is called an Inert Gas Multi-Breath Washout. It uses an open circuit and requires a tracer gas that is both inert and relatively insoluble and for these reasons has been primarily limited to helium, nitrogen and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) although methane and argon could potentially be used as well.