Age and bronchial hyperresponsiveness are associated with failure to perform the single breath N2 test in a rural female population.
Because some authors have reported high rates of failure in performing the single breath N2 (SBN2) test in rural areas, the present study aimed at evaluating its acceptability in a female population, unfamiliar with lung function testing, in a rural area of northeastern France. Two hundred ninety-eight women from a rural area volunteered for a preventive medicine examination (91.6% of those invited); four of them were excluded for clinical reasons, and six (2%) were unable to perform spirometry. The protocol included completion of a questionnaire, spirometry with a bronchial reactivity test, skin prick test, and the SBN2 test utilizing a computerized assembly. Although failures caused by the apparatus were few (n = 7, 2.4%) 96 of 281 women (34.1%) were unable to produce two valid SBN2 tests in a series of six attempts. Compared with the group who succeeded in the test (n = 185), women who failed were older and had a higher prevalence of bronchial hyperresponsiveness. Logistic regression confirmed the independent association of these two variables with an inability to perform. We conclude that in a female population completely unfamiliar with lung function testing the SBN2 test has a high rate of failure associated with higher age and the presence of bronchial hyperresponsiveness.
Teculescu
D
D
Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Unité 420, B.P. 184, 54505 Vandoeuvre-Lès-Nancy Cedex, France.
Bohadana
A B
AB
Megherbi
S E
SE
Costantino
E
E
Pham
Q T
QT
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D001944:Breath Tests; D016535:Bronchial Hyperreactivity / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008875:Middle Aged; D012424:Rural Population; D013147:Spirometry