Agreement and Reliability of a Digital Incentive Spirometer Compared with a Volume-Oriented Incentive Spirometry...

Area of Science:

• Pulmonary Rehabilitation
• Medical Device Technology
• Respiratory Physiology

Background:

• Incentive spirometry is crucial for respiratory rehabilitation and preventing pulmonary complications.
• Conventional spirometers lack objective measurement due to subjective visual interpretation.
• A digital incentive spirometer (DIS) offers objective, real-time inspiratory volume data.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the agreement and reliability of a digital incentive spirometer (DIS) against a volume-oriented incentive spirometer (VIS).
• To assess device performance across diverse age groups (7-80 years).

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 150 participants across five age strata.
• Simultaneous inspiratory volume measurements using DIS and VIS.
• Bland-Altman analysis for agreement and Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICC) for reliability.

Main Results:

• The DIS exhibited good overall reliability (ICC = 0.868).
• A mean difference of 48.69 mL indicated slight overestimation by the DIS.
• Wide limits of agreement (-469.24 to 566.63 mL) suggest limited interchangeability between devices.
• Reliability varied by age, highest in older adults and lowest in adolescents.

Conclusions:

• The digital incentive spirometer demonstrates strong reliability for measuring inspiratory volumes.
• Limited agreement with conventional devices restricts direct interchangeability.
• Further research may be needed to refine DIS for clinical use across all age demographics.