Abstract
BackgroundChronic respiratory diseases constitute a considerable part in the practice of pulmonologists and primary care physicians; spirometry is integral for the diagnosis and monitoring of these diseases, yet remains underutilized. The Air Next spirometer (NuvoAir, Sweden) is a novel ultra-portable device that performs spirometric measurements connected to a smartphone or tablet via Bluetooth®.MethodsThe objective of this study was to assess the accuracy and validity of these measurements by comparing them with the ones obtained with a conventional desktop spirometer. Two hundred subjects were enrolled in the study with various spirometric patterns (50 patients with asthma, 50 with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and 50 with interstitial lung disease) as well as 50 healthy individuals.ResultsFor the key spirometric parameters in the interpretation of spirometry, i.e. FEV1, FVC, FEV1/FVC and FEF25–75%, Pearson correlation and Interclass Correlation Coefficient were greater than 0.94, exhibiting perfect concordance between the two spirometers. Similar results were observed in an exploratory analysis of the subgroups of patients. Using Bland-Altman plots we have shown good reproducibility in the measurements between the two devices, with small mean differences for the evaluated spirometric parameters and the majority of measurements being well within the limits of agreement.ConclusionsOur results support the use of Air Next as a reliable spirometer for the screening and diagnosis of various spirometric patterns in clinical practice.
Highlights
Spirometry is a useful tool for diagnosing the cause of unexplained respiratory symptoms and monitoring patients with known respiratory diseases [1]
It is our view that CE certified medical devices should be tested independently with the results being published in peer-reviewed journals, in order to evaluate the robustness and reproducibility of the devices’ measurements and allow for interpretation of the data by broader audiences, including practicing clinicians and patients
In order to obtain representative results we recruited patients according to the following stratification: 50 patients with asthma, 50 patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), 50 patients with interstitial lung disease and restrictive spirometric pattern and 50 healthy controls
Summary
Spirometry is a useful tool for diagnosing the cause of unexplained respiratory symptoms and monitoring patients with known respiratory diseases [1] It remains the gold standard test for the diagnosis of obstructive airway diseases, including asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). For asthma and COPD, spirometry is a valuable aid for assessing disease Despite these benefits, spirometry remains largely underused, especially in the offices of primary care physicians [2,3,4,5]. Spirometry remains largely underused, especially in the offices of primary care physicians [2,3,4,5] This can be attributed to several factors, including bulky and costly spirometric devices, complex interpretation software, the need for frequent calibration of the spirometer, maintenance costs and special training for performing and interpreting spirometry. The Air spirometer (NuvoAir, Sweden) is a novel ultra-portable device that performs spirometric measurements connected to a smartphone or tablet via Bluetooth®
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