Detection of airflow limitation using a handheld spirometer in a primary care setting

• Published in: Respirology (Carlton, Vic.) Vic.), 2014-07, Vol.19 (5), p.689-693
• Main Authors: Ching, Siew-Mooi, Pang, Yong-Kek, Price, David, Cheong, Ai-Theng, Lee, Ping-Yein, Irmi, Ismail, Faezah, Hassan, Ruhaini, Ismail, Chia, Yook-Chin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Age Factors; Body Mass Index; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Forced Expiratory Volume - physiology; Humans; Logistic Models; Lung diseases; Malaysia; Male; Middle Aged; Obstructive lung disease; Original; Predictive Value of Tests; Prevalence; Primary care; Primary Health Care - methods; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive - diagnosis; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive - epidemiology; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive - physiopathology; Pulmonary Ventilation - physiology; Risk Factors; smoke; Spirometry; Spirometry - instrumentation; Spirometry - methods; Vital Capacity - physiology
• ISSN: 1323-7799; 1440-1843
• DOI: 10.1111/resp.12291

Background and objective Early diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in primary care settings is difficult to achieve chiefly due to lack of availability of spirometry. This study estimated the prevalence of airflow limitation among chronic smokers using a handheld spirometer in this setting. Methods This is a cross‐sectional study performed on consecutive patients who were ≥40 years old with ≥10 pack‐years smoking history. Face‐to‐face interviews were carried out to obtain demographic data and relevant information. Handheld spirometry was performed according to a standard protocol using the COPd‐6 device (Model 4000, Vitalograph, Ennis, Ireland) in addition to standard spirometry. Airflow limitation was defined as ratio of forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1)/forced expiratory volume in 6 s