Reproducibility of spirometry in asthmatic children between 5-12 years of age.

Abstract

Objective: To investigate how consistently children (aged 5-12) attending the asthma clinic at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital could perform forced expiratory maneuvers during standard spirometric evaluation. Study Design: Cross-sectional. Setting: Department of Paediatric, Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, Karachi. Period: October, 2021 till April, 2022. Methods: Prospective data collection was conducted on 128 suspected asthmatic patients following verbal consent. Simple descriptive statistics, including mean and standard deviation, were used to summarize quantitative data, while qualitative variables were reported as frequencies and percentages. Stratification was used to manage effect modifiers and evaluate their influence on the outcome variable. A post-stratification chi-square test was employed, with a significance level set at p ≤ 0.5. Results: A total of 128 suspected asthmatic patients were included in this study. Mean age in our study was 9.14±2.09 years. 58 (45.3%) were male and 70 (54.7%) were female. Out of 128 suspected asthmatic patients, 95 (74.2%) and 33 (25.8%) had and did not have reproducibility. Conclusion: In a busy clinical environment, a significant number of school-aged children demonstrate the ability to perform technically acceptable and repeatable spirometry. This indicates that spirometry could serve as an effective screening tool for identifying abnormal lung function, such as asthma, in this age group.