A combination of handheld spirometer device and questionnaire- A potential screening tool for early diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Authors : Venkata Rajiv Terli, Narendra Kumar Narahari, Deepika Shree Balaram, Bhaskar Kakarla, G K Paramjyothi

DOI : 10.18231/2581-4222.2019.0012

Volume : 4

Issue : 1

Year : 2019

Page No : 52-59

Background: Many cases of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) continue to be undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. Screening of these patients with spirometry may help in detecting airflow obstruction before the subject develops clinical symptoms. But it is neither feasible nor cost effective and cannot be applied to huge population in India. Therefore, a need for a simple and cost effective method to identify persons who might have the early stages of COPD is warranted. The present study was done:-

1. To identify the utility of COPD population screener (COPD-PS) questionnaire + COPD-6 Hand-held spirometer device (HSD) as a screening tool for early diagnosis of COPD.
2. To identify the sensitivity and specificity of COPD-PS and COPD-6 device, individually and when used in combination, in the diagnosis of COPD.

Methodology: This is a cross sectional observational study done using a questionnaire (COPD-PS) and Hand-held spirometer device (COPD-6) during the three months period from May to July 2018 in the department of Pulmonary Medicine in Nizams Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS). This study was approved by our institution’s ethics committee.
Results: Out of the 89 patients screened, 69 had COPD-PS score >/=5 and 52 had a COPD-6 (FEV₁/FVC₆) <0>
Conclusions: The combination of COPD-PS and COPD-6 is highly effective in early detection of undiagnosed airway obstruction in COPD and can guide effectively in subjecting the high risk patients to spirometry for confirming the diagnosis of COPD.

Keywords: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); Spirometry; Questionnaire; Screening tool.

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