Automated Interpretation of the Pulmonary Function Test by a Portable Spirometer in Chinese Adults

Introduction: A portable spirometer is a promising alternative to a traditional pulmonary function test (PFT) spirometer for respiratory function evaluation.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the accuracy of automated interpretation of the PFT measured by a portable Yue Cloud spirometer in Chinese adults.

Methods: The PFT was performed to evaluate subjects prospectively enrolled at Ruijin Hospital (n = 220). A Yue Cloud spirometer and a conventional Jaeger MasterScreen device were applied to each patient with a 20-min quiescent period between each measurement. Pulmonary function parameters, including forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1), peak expiratory flow (PEF), maximal expiratory flow at 25%, 50%, and 75% of the FVC (MEF25, MEF50, and MEF75, respectively), and maximal mid-expiratory flow (MMEF), were compared by correlation analyses and Bland-Altman methods. The Yue Cloud spirometer automatically interpreted the PFT results, and a conventional strategy was performed to interpret the PFT results obtained by the Jaeger machine. Concordance of the categorization of pulmonary dysfunction, small airway dysfunction, and severity was analyzed by the kappa (κ) statistic.

Results: Significantly similar correlations of all variables measured with the two spirometers were observed (all p < 0.001). No significant bias was observed in any of the measured spirometer variables. A satisfactory concordance of pulmonary function and severity classification was observed between the automated interpretation results obtained with the Yue Cloud spirometer vs. a conventional spirometer interpretation strategy (all κ > 0.80).

Conclusion: The portable Yue Cloud spirometer not only yields reliable measurements of pulmonary function but also can automatically interpret the PFT results.