Pulmonary Function Testing Procedures: A Preliminary Study of Local Occupational Health Clinics

Abstract

For the results of pulmonary function testing to be valid, the examination must be administered by a knowledgeable technician and the instrument must fulfill performance criteria. In general, most small to mid-sized industries rely upon local medical clinics to provide pulmonary function tests. Because of this, a survey was undertaken to study the pulmonary function testing services available at occupational medical clinics in a large metropolitan area. The purpose of this study was: 1.

to determine the percentage of clinics complying with the program prerequisites mentioned above, and

to identify the other predictive characteristics of clinics more likely to meet these standards.

A random sample of occupational medical clinics providing pulmonary function testing were selected for this study. Of the 31 clinics providing pulmonary function testing services, a random sample of 14 were chosen to perticipate; for these clinics, administrators and/or physicians were interviewed and testing equipment was examined. It was found that 17% of clinics employed certified technicians to conduct testing and 42% had instruments meeting performance specifications. Overall, only 8% of the sample met both prerequisites. No significant relationship was found between selected variables that it was hoped would identify clinics more likely to perform valid pulmonary function testing. It is believed that a larger sample size would be necessary to establish such significant correlations.

References

American Association of Occupational Health Nurses (1983). Guidelines for implementation of a respiratory surveillance program. pp. 7–14.

American National Standards Institute (1984). Z88.6-1984 - American national standard for respiratory protection — Respirator use — Physical qualifications.

American Thoracic Society (1979). ATS statement Report of Snowbird workshop on standardizations of spirometry Annual Review of Respiratory Disease 119, 831–837.

Hamilton

(1980). Pulmonary function testing regulations and recommendations. Occupational Safety and Health, (July/August) 29(4), 25–29.

Horvath

(1979). Pulmonary function testing in occupational health. Navy Environmental Health, 1–11.

Lewis

(1981). Pitfalls of spirometry. Journal of Occupational Medicine, 23, 35–38.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (1984). Pulmonary function standards for cotton dust standard. General Industry Safety Order, Title 8, 5217, pp. 442.98-442. 100.

Townsend

(1984). The effects of leaks in spirometers on measurement of pulmonary function. Journal of Occupational Medicine, 26, 835–841.

University of California, Irvine (1981). Pulmonary function testing in an occupational health setting.

10.

Weill

(1973). Pulmonary function testing in industry. Journal of Occupational Medicine, 123, 693–699.