Nationwide Assessment of Pulmonary Function Testing Practices and Safety Compliance During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) presented considerable challenges to health services, particularly for a routine assessment method, the pulmonary function tests (PFTs), which can generate aerosols and require sharing common surfaces. Despite these risks, there is a need to continue testing, especially for vulnerable patient groups.

An online survey was conducted from June 1 to June 26, 2020, to assess pulmonologists’ practices regarding PFTs before and during the pandemic’s first peak in Türkiye (March 11-May 20, 2020). The survey included 30 anonymized questions and received ethical committee approval. Statistical analysis was performed using the IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences statistical package.

Two hundred and forty-three respondents across 59 cities participated in the study. 93% were pulmonologists. 77.4% of PFT labs have adequate ventilation by having a window enabling room direct air exchange. 27.2% of the PFT labs continued testing during the first peak of the pandemic. 83.3% of the responding centers applied triage before testing. Ongoing tests included spirometry (100%), bronchodilator reversibility testing (62.1%), and carbon-monoxide diffusion testing (16.7%). 49% of the PFT labs conducted fewer than four tests daily, while 21.2% performed more than eight. PFT technicians used personal protective equipment, with 67.7% using eye protection and 75.3 % wearing FFP3 or FFP2 masks.

The survey found that pulmonologists have acted quickly and made moderate success in making preparations in PFT labs for the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, safer practice in PFT units still needs to be implemented.