Venous serum chloride and bicarbonate measurements in the evaluation of respiratory function in motor neuron disease

摘要

Respiratory failure, with or without pneumonia, is the usual causeof death in patients with motor neuron disease (MND). Forced vitalcapacity (FVC) is often used to monitor respiratory function in MNDand is, in part, predictive of survival time. However, suchvolitional tests are unreliable in Many patients, especially later inthe disease, And access to hospital laboratories can also be aProblem for some disabled patients.