Resp Care
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Comparative Study Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
Comparison of a new desktop spirometer (Spirospec) with a laboratory spirometer in a respiratory out-patient clinic.
The performance of spirometers is often evaluated under ideal conditions with computer-generated waveforms or in vivo testing with healthy subjects. Real-life conditions are less ideal because of comorbidities, age of the subjects, and a variety of air flow limitations. Evaluation of new spirometry equipment can also be performed under these less favorable conditions. The Spirospec is a new desktop spirometer that is commercially available, but its accuracy has not been evaluated in a clinical setting. ⋯ The Spirospec is comparable to the Masterlab 4.0, with high accuracy for FEV(1) and forced vital capacity and clinically acceptable differences in the measured flow variables.
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Modern clinical use of supplemental oxygen supposes that: (1) exposure to F(IO)(2) < or = 60% is without adverse effects, (2) an individual at risk of developing arterial hypoxemia can be protected by administering high F(IO)(2), and (3) routine administration of supplemental oxygen is useful, harmless, and clinically indicated. There is now substantial evidence that none of those 3 suppositions are correct, and, on the contrary, supplemental oxygen is actually detrimental to many of the patients who receive it. Supplemental oxygen is much overused and its use should be limited to the few conditions and situations in which it is truly effective, useful, and non-detrimental.