Smokers are assessed for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) using spirometry, with COPD defined by the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) as airflow limitation that is not fully reversible with bronchodilators. There is a subset of smokers with normal spirometry (by GOLD criteria), who have a low diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (DLCO), a p...

BACKGROUND Diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and its severity determination is based on spirometry. The quality of spirometry is crucial. OBJECTIVES Our aim was to assess the quality of spirometry performed using a spirometer with automated feedback and quality control in a general practice setting in Switzerland and to determine the prevalence of airflow limitation in...

BACKGROUND Spirometry reference values are important for the interpretation of spirometry results. Reference values should be updated regularly, derived from a population as similar to the population for which they are to be used and span across all ages. Such spirometry reference equations are currently lacking for central European populations. OBJECTIVE To develop spirometry reference equat...

BACKGROUND Severity of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is based either on symptoms/disability or lung function, which have no discernible correlation. We hypothesised that impulse oscillometry (IOS), a non-effort-dependent measure of central and peripheral airway mechanics, could correlate to dyspnoea in COPD. METHODS We analysed screening data from 57 COPD patients who had spiro...

Guidelines that recommend spirometry to confirm airflow obstruction among patients with suspected COPD are not routinely followed. We conducted a qualitative study to identify attitudes and barriers of primary care physicians to performing spirometry for patients with possible COPD. We conducted four focus groups, each with three primary care physicians (PCPs) who practice in an urban, academic...

Background: previous studies have shown that a Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) score of <24/30 and inability to copy intersecting pentagons (IP) predicts inability to perform spirometry. We hypothesised that clock drawing tests (CLOX 1 and 2), being validated tests of cognitive executive function, might predict spirometry performance with a higher sensitivity and specificity than the MMSE ...

BACKGROUND The use of the lower 90% confidence limit of the lower limit of normal (LLN(CI)), rather than a fixed percentage of the predicted value (LLN(%)), appears to be statistically more appropriate for interpretation of spirometry results. There has been no comparative assessment of these 2 definitions of the LLN in routine clinical practice. METHODS We studied results of spirometry inter...