Should spirometer quality control be treated like other laboratory devices?. Issue 1 (11th February 2019) - Haynes, Jeffrey M.
Spirometry plays an important role in the diagnosis and management of obstructive and restrictive lung disease [1–4]. To help ensure the accuracy of spirometry testing the American Thoracic Society (ATS)/European Respiratory Society (ERS) recommend that the calibration of spirometers be verified daily with a 3-L syringe and the recorded value should be 3 L ±3.5% [5]. This recommendation is based on expert opinion, not evidence. The following case describes a situation where a significant spirometer malfunction was not detected by the ATS/ERS spirometer calibration limits and offers an alternative approach to spirometer quality control. The ATS/ERS spirometer calibration standards may not be adequate http://ow.ly/Pqdq30nwAmb