Accuracy of a handheld spirometer in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease screening of patients' companions at the hassan ii university hospital in fes, morocco

Respiratory screening is an important step in identifying respiratory problems. It is important to note that early screening can help prevent the disease from worsening and improve quality of life. The aim of this study was to explore the capacity of a new portable spirometer compared with standard spirometry in screening for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. A cross sectional study was conducted among patients’ companions consulting in the pulmonology department of the HASSAN II University Hospital of Fez. The participantsbenefited from two spirometry tests: one performed by a reference spirometer, and the other by a new connected spirometer.We included 222 participants, 63.1% of whom were female, with an average age of 52.2±10.4. Data showed a strong correlation between absolute values of FEV1, FVC and FEV1/FVC ratio measured with the Smart Air mobile spirometer and conventional office spirometry, with r=0.87,r=0.84 and r=0.75, respectively. The connected spirometer Air-Smart detected 88 (39.6%) participants with obstructive ventilatory disorder (OVD). The Kappa coefficient between the two devices was k=0.61 (95% CI (0.55; 0.67)). The Air Smart could be an exciting and affordable tool for screening purposes in the primary care setting.