Spirometry in preschool children: the effect of educational intervention

Introduction: The diagnosis of asthma in preschool children is a challenge for the medical community. In 2019, the guidelines were revised with the aim of standardizing spirometry in preschool children. Purpose: To investigate the feasibility of performing spirometry without technical errors in children aged 3 to 6 years and the effect of educational intervention. Methodology: The study included children who visited the pediatric pulmonology unit of a public hospital and who had not attempted spirometry before. The control group received oral training on the spirometry procedure, while the intervention group watched an educational video. The study period is from 08/05/2019 to 11/03/2020 and from 21/03/2022 to 30/07/2023. IBM SPSS Statistics 23.0 software was used for the statistical analysis of data. Frequencies, mean values and standard deviation were calculated. Inductive analysis was performed using the x2 test, simple and multiple logistic regression models and Pearson's correlation coefficient. Results: A total of 108 children participated, of which 57.4% were boys and 42.6% were girls. The percentage of successful spirometry was found to be 75.92% overall, while for the control and intervention groups 67.86% and 84.62% respectively (OR 2.61). Of the 82 children who were successfully spirometered, 39 (36.11%) had one acceptable curve, 22 (20.37%) two acceptable curves and 21 (19.44%) at least three successful attempts. The children in control group took greater time than the children in intervention group to complete the examination (median: 17.5 and 10 minutes respectively). Conclusions: Spirometry is feasible in preschool children. The use of an educational video contributed to an increase in the rate of successful spirometry and a reduction in the time required to perform the test.