Performing Spirometry; Preparing The Patient; Measuring The Forced Vital Capacity (Fvc) - NDD EasyOne Operator's Manual

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5 Performing Spirometry

5.1

Preparing the Patient

Prepare for testing by having the patient loosen tight clothing, remove dentures, and relax. The patient
may sit or stand. If standing you may want to perform testing in an area free of sharp table or counter
edges, or have a chair handy as there is a slight possibility that the patient could faint during the stre-
nuous spirometry maneuver.
Explain that the purpose of the test is to determine how much air a person s lungs can hold and how
quickly that air can be expelled with a forceful, maximal effort. Since the spirometry test requires active
participation by the patient it is very important to demonstrate the maneuver for the patient. Emphasize
the essential elements of the test:
filling lungs completely
sealing lips around the spirette
with teeth or tongue or bite down excessively
blasting out as hard and fast as possible
continue blowing out until the lungs are completely empty
If you are new to spirometry, you should practice testing yourself and others prior to testing patients.
You will learn to recognize a poor effort by observing the patient and/or interpreting the Quality Mes-
sages displayed by the spirometer after each effort. After a poor effort you must explain what went
wrong. Develop enthusiastic coaching techniques to use during the maneuver to maximize your
chances of getting quality results with a minimum number of efforts.
Caution: Pulmonary function tests require maximum effort on the part of the patient and may
lead to dizziness or giddiness.
5.2

Measuring the Forced Vital Capacity (FVC)

Choose Perform Test in the main menu and then NEW. Confirm with ENTER. The instrument will
now allow you to enter the patient data.
Enter the corresponding patient data line by line. Use the keys as described in Chapter 4.3. Con-
firm with ENTER each time.
After entering the patient data, you then move on to the "Test selection" menu. Choose the FVC
test and confirm with ENTER.
Insert a spirette
arrow on the instrument.
Once again briefly prepare the patient for the test. When the patient is ready, press ENTER. You
will now hear the sensor buzzing.
The instrument now prompts you to avoid air flow in the spirette
It is advisable to block off the spirette
precisely even if the room is draughty. An audible signal will sound when the baseline has been
set. You will see prompt "Blast out" on the screen.
Hand the instrument to the patient. Ask the patient to breathe in deeply, insert the spirette
rectly into his or her mouth. Now ask the patient to exhale as firmly and as quickly as possible,
and continue exhaling until all air has been exhaled.
At the end of the maneuver, you will see a message on the display indicating whether the ma-
neuver was acceptable. At least three acceptable maneuvers must have been performed before
you see message "Session complete".
Using keys (>) and (<), you can view the result on the screen. In order to print the result, choose
the PRINT field and press ENTER. Then place the instrument into the base unit. The report is then
printed.
so that there are no leaks, taking care not to block its opening
into the instrument. Ensure that the arrow on the spirette
on one end in order to ensure that the baseline is set
is lined up with the
since it is setting the baseline.
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