AOCOPM 2024 Midyear Educational Conference-346719

346719 - Article 18

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The document titled "Respiratory Assessment for Occupational Medicine 2024 Update" by Carl Werntz provides an educational overview of spirometry for occupational medicine practitioners. It is intended as a guide for understanding respiratory assessments relevant to workplace environments. The presentation discusses key aspects of spirometry performance, interpretation, and responds to differing ethnic considerations in spirometry predictions.<br /><br />The learning objectives focus on understanding spirometry performance, recognizing patterns in spirometric results, the implications of air trapping, transitioning from patterns to diagnosis with lung volumes, evaluating different standards for spirometry interpretation based on ethnicity, and distinguishing between acceptable and usable maneuvers in spirometry tests.<br /><br />Case studies included illustrate spirometry results interpretation, emphasizing the recognition of restrictive and obstructive patterns. The document highlights practical considerations for spirometry testing such as testing positions (seated vs. standing) and the importance of active coaching during the tests. It reflects on how test results can be influenced by the patient's position, characteristics of acceptable and unusable maneuvers, and new 2019 ATS recommendations.<br /><br />Additionally, predicted values are examined, acknowledging various equations used historically across different populations, and recommending the Global Lung Initiative (GLI) values for universal application in 2023 to address disparities and enhance accuracy.<br /><br />The document establishes guidelines for serial spirometry assessments, stressing the importance of tracking changes over time rather than relying solely on one-time predicted percentages. Recommendations for occupational settings from bodies like ACOEM and NIOSH inform how to manage serial spirometry data.<br /><br />Finally, references to significant literature and resources are provided for further information or to obtain lower limit of normal (LLN) data, supporting practitioners in making informed assessments and decisions relevant to occupational health and safety.

Keywords

spirometry

occupational medicine

respiratory assessment

lung volumes

ethnic considerations

restrictive patterns

obstructive patterns

Global Lung Initiative

serial spirometry

occupational health