Feasibility of spirometry in primary care to screen for COPD: a pilot study

Figures & data

Table 1 Characteristics of the 142 patients included

Characteristic	Female (n=59)	Male (n=83)	P-value
Age (years)	58.5±11.0	59.3±10.8	0.67
Body mass index (kg/m^2)	25.8±5.7	25.9±4.2	0.83
Smoker (pack-years)	31.7±13.7	34.5±14.2	0.26

Note: Values are mean ± standard deviation.

Table 2 Central evaluation of the quality of the 142 spirometry curves

Curve-quality criterion	N (%)
Acceptability
Expiration ≥6 s or reached a plateau	129 (90.1)
Good start	127 (89.4)
No artifact	130 (91.5)
Reproducibility
FVC difference between two best curves ≤0.15 L	93 (65.5)
FEV1 difference between two best curves ≤0.15 L	108 (76.1)
FEV1 and FVC differences between two best curves ≤0.15 L	80 (56.3)
Interpretation of quality
Optimal: acceptability and reproducibility criteria met (≤0.15 L)	83 (58.5)
Acceptable: acceptability criteria but not reproducibility criterion met; last curve normal (FEV1 and FVC >80%, FEV1/FVC ≥70%)	35 (24.6)
Acceptable: acceptability criteria but not reproducibility criterion met; last curve with AO (FEV1/FVC <70%) ^Citation1	8 (5.6)
Inacceptable	16 (11.3)

Abbreviations: AO, airway obstruction; FEV₁, forced expiratory volume in 1 second; FVC, forced vital capacity; s, seconds.

World Health Organization. [webpage on the Internet]World Health Statistics2008 Available from: http://www.who.int/gard/publications/chronic_respiratory_diseases.pdfAccessed September 15, 2010

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