Adult Cystic Fibrosis (CF) patients prefer to perform impulse oscillometry (IOS) in comparison to spirometry

Abstract

Introduction and Aim: Spirometry is the gold standard for monitoring lung function in CF, however has been reported to cause patient discomfort. IOS is an alternative diagnostic tool to monitor lung function. The aim of this study is to compare patient preference and assess patient discomfort among adult CF patients in using IOS and spirometry. Methods: Two prospective studies are being conducted simultaneously to compare the sensitivity of IOS and spirometry in detecting lung function improvements in CF patients commencing on ORKAMBI® and receiving treatment for pulmonary exacerbations respectively. Patients were given questionnaires after lung function measurements to assess patient preference between the two diagnostic methods. The patients were asked to rate their level of discomfort on a scale of 0 to 10 for each test. The same questionnaire was used in both prospective studies and results were combined for data analysis. Results: Total of 37 patients were recruited; 18 patients from CF exacerbation study and 19 from ORKAMBI® study. The mean±SD age was 32.2±7.6 years; 31 patients were males (82%). The majority of patients (76%, n=28) preferred performing IOS. Eight patients (22%) preferred spirometry in comparison to IOS while one patient (3%) had no preference. Eight patients (22%) reported experiencing discomfort while performing spirometry compared to one patient (3%) using IOS. Spirometry had an overall mean rating score of 2.2±2.3 compared to mean rating score of 0.6±1.0 in IOS, which was statistically different (p Conclusion: Adult CF patients prefer to perform IOS. More patients experienced discomfort when performing spirometry.