Effects of laser treatment on respiratory function in malignant narrowing of the central airways

Twenty patients with inoperable carcinoma in the trachea or a main bronchus were investigated before and one and 10 days after treatment with a carbon dioxide laser. Patients were assessed by spirometry, maximum flow-volume loops, and a visual analogue score of breathlessness on a scale from 0 (not at all breathless) to 100 (very breathless). At day 10 mean FEV1 had improved from 51.9% to 62.6% of predicted (p less than 0.02) and mean peak expiratory flow (PEF) from 45.3% to 53.1% of the predicted value (p less than 0.05). Improvements in maximum inspiratory and expiratory flows at 50% vital capacity were not significant but the breathlessness score decreased from a mean of 49.1 to 35.3 (p less than 0.01). Improvements in breathlessness were significantly correlated with increases in FEV1 and PEF. Thirteen of the 20 patients had unilateral tumours with partial or complete occlusion of the main bronchus; in these perfusion and ventilation were assessed by radioisotope scans before and 10 days after treatment. Seven of the 13 patients showed an increase in perfusion of the affected lung after treatment but the improvement was small, with a mean increase in unilateral perfusion in the 13 patients of 2.4% of the total counts. Four patients with no perfusion of the affected side showed no significant improvement after laser treatment. Changes in ventilation scans were similar to those in perfusion. It is concluded that laser treatment improves airway function and dyspnoea in malignant narrowing of central airways and that in unilateral obstruction such treatment results, at best, in a small increase in the contribution of the affected lung to perfusion.