Baseline spirometry is useful in diagnosing and managing pulmonary disease. In a questionnaire survey of 100 hospital doctors in two hospitals in the Mersey region, their views and ability to interpret baseline spirometry was assessed. Of the 70 doctors who responded, 65% felt they could accurately interpret baseline spirometry. However, only 12% accurately interpreted all five vitalographs in ...

BACKGROUND Asthma is among the most common chronic diseases in adults. International guidelines have emphasized the importance of regular spirometry for asthma control evaluation. However, spirometry use in primary care remains low across jurisdictions. We sought to design and evaluate a knowledge translation intervention to address both the poor quality of spirometry and the underuse of spirom...

BACKGROUND Spirometry testing is essential to confirm an obstructive lung disease, but studies have reported that a large proportion of patients diagnosed with COPD or asthma have no history of spirometry testing. Also, it has been shown that many patients are prescribed medication for obstructive lung disease without a relevant diagnosis or spirometry test registered. General practice characte...

INTRODUCTION A number of studies inviting citizens to perform spirometry without need for a previous appointment have been performed to determine the need for general screening of the population for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Yet, no studies have examined how many of the participants follow the advice given to consult their general practitioner (GP) afterwards. METHODS A wa...

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...