Quality of spirometry testing in a community setting: A study among elderly persons in a rural area of Haryana

INTRODUCTION: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Early diagnosis and management of COPD require good quality spirometry testing, which is currently not available at primary care level in India. This study reports the quality of spirometry testing at the community level among elderly persons in a rural area. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 449 elderly persons in a rural area of Ballabgarh block of Haryana state by a trained investigator. A portable spirometer (MIR Spirolab(®)) was used. House-to-house visits were undertaken. A self-developed pretested semistructured interview schedule was administrated and spirometry was done according to the American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society (ATS/ERS) guidelines. RESULTS: Acceptable quality of spirometry tests was found among 87.3% (95% CI: 84.2%–90.4%) participants. Poor quality of spirometry was associated with low Body Mass Index (BMI) (aOR = 0.49, 95% CI = 0.26–0.93) and age ≥ 70 years (aOR = 0.45, 95% CI = 0.21–0.94) in multivariable analysis. CONCLUSION: Acceptable quality of spirometry can be performed in community settings by using a portable spirometer.