Question

What I'd like you to do is to write a 2-page paper (it can be double spaced) on using spirometry as a tool to make clinical assessments. This should include what spirometry is, how the measurements are done, what type of data can be collected, and what type of clinical diagnoses can be made/monitored by using this technique - i.e. what is this typically used for and what do changes in values represent.

Answer 1

Spirometry as a tool to make clinical assessments. This should include what spirometry is, how the measurements are done, what type of data can be collected, and what type of clinical diagnoses can be made/monitored by using this technique - i.e. what is this typically used for and what do changes in values represent.

Spirometry is the term given to the basic lung function tests that measure the air that is expired and inspired. There are three basic related measurements: volume, time and flow. Spirometry is objective, noninvasive, sensitive to early change and reproducible. With the availability of portable meters it can be performed almost anywhere and, with the right training, it can be performed by anybody. It is performed to detect the presence or absence of lung disease, quantify lung impairment, monitor the effects of occupational/environmental exposures and determine the effects of medications.

Spirometric measures include the following.

• Forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV₁)
• Forced vital capacity (FVC), the maximum amount of air that can be exhaled when blowing out as fast as possible
• Vital capacity (VC), the maximum amount of air that can be exhaled when blowing out as fast as possible
• FEV₁/FVC ratio
• Peak expiratory flow (PEF), the maximal flow that can be exhaled when blowing out at a steady rate
• Forced expiratory flow, also known as mid-expiratory flow; the rates at 25%, 50% and 75% FVC are given
• Inspiratory vital capacity (IVC), the maximum amount of air that can be inhaled after a full expiration

http://breathe.ersjournals.com/content/8/3/232