Journal Information
Vol. 52. Issue 2.
Pages 109 (February 2016)
Vol. 52. Issue 2.
Pages 109 (February 2016)
Letter to the Editor
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Quality of Spirometric Data in Spain: The 3E Study
Calidad de los datos de las espirometrías en España: estudio 3E
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Jose Luis Lopez-Camposa,b,
Corresponding author
lcampos@separ.es

Corresponding author.
, Joan B. Sorianoc, Myriam Callea,d, en representación del Proyecto 3E
a Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío, Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla (IBiS), Sevilla, Spain
b Centro de Investigación en Red de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
c Fundación de Investigación Sanitaria de las Islas Baleares (FISIB), Hospital Universitario Son Espases, Palma de Mallorca, Islas Baleares, Spain
d Servicio de Neumología, Hospital Universitario San Carlos, Madrid, Spain
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To the Editor,

We would like to thank Dr Hueto and his colleagues for their interest in our article on the situation of spirometry of Spain, and for the comparative analysis they make with their own survey, conducted in 2012,1 on the quality of spirometry in specialized care centers in the public health sector of their region. As they mention, when both surveys are compared, the results vary considerably. Moreover, Hueto et al. suggest that the methodology section of our 3E inter-regional study2 does not give information on the types of centers polled, nor on the specialty being evaluated. They also say that there is no mention of the criteria used in the 3E study to determine the quality of the bronchodilator tests and the spirometries. We would like to make 3 points in this regard:

  • First, it is no surprise that our results are different from those published by Dr Hueto and his colleagues.1,3 Different results often emerge if the same problem is examined using different methodologies. Dr Hueto and his co-workers evaluated the use of spirometry in public hospitals with specialist care units. In contrast, as we explain in the methodology sections of the principal research article4 and the subsequent studies,2,5 the 3E study included all healthcare centers seeing adult patients with respiratory disease. In other words, our aim was not give an overview of the situation in public hospitals, but rather to give an idea of the wider reality of how this diagnostic technique is applied in Spain.

  • Second, our spirometry and bronchodilator test quality criteria are explicitly detailed in the article they cite,2 and in another subsequent publication.5 As we explain in the methodology section of these papers, we used 8 quality criteria for spirometries and 5 for the bronchodilator tests. It is important to remember that the 3E study was a telephone survey, not a clinical audit. Accordingly, we selected quality criteria which could be measured with this method. We did not evaluate the technical quality of the spirometries, but we did refer to previous experiences reported in Spain.6

  • Lastly, it is important to remember that many studies and geographical epidemiology reviews have underlined the dangers of using the micro to interpret the macro,7 particularly in a study with the inherent “noise” typical of an anonymous, third-person telephone survey. We must not forget that any interpretation of a health survey must consider the overall context. In view of the inherent features of the methodology used, such as sample variability, some surprising results may be expected. The solution in this case is to complete the picture by performing further studies from other perspectives or using different methods. For this reason, Dr Hueto's letter is particularly important, since it complements our data and attempts to provide a better understanding of the overall status of spirometry in Spain. We are sure that together these data can improve the follow-up and implementation of the National COPD Strategy in Spain.

Appendix A
3E Project

Steering committee: Myriam Calle, Joan B Soriano and Jose Luis Lopez-Campos

Working group (by Scientific Society to which each member belongs, in alphabetical order):

AIRE. Borja Garcia Cosio and Isabel Mir

ASTURPAR. Cristina Martínez González

NEUMOCAN. Ana Velázquez

NEUMOMADRID. Jose Miguel Rodríguez González-Moro

NEUMOSUR. Aurelio Arnedillo

SADAR. Luis Borderias Clau

SEAR. Juan Antonio Riesco Miranda

SEPAR. Juan Ruiz Manzano (Chairperson) and German Peces Barba

SOCALPAR. Jose Luis Viejo Bañuelos

SOCAMPAR. Encarnación López Gabaldón (Chairperson)

SOCAP. Eduard Monso Molas (Chairperson)

SOGAPAR. Marina Blanco Aparicio

SOMUPAR. Juan Luis de la Torre Alvaro (Chairperson)

SVNEUMO. M. Cruz González Villaescusa

SVNPR. Juan Bautista Galdiz

References
[1]
P. Cebollero Rivas, J. Hueto Pérez de Heredia.
La espirometría en la Neumología pública en Navarra. Análisis contrastado del estudio 3E.
Arch Bronconeumol., 51 (2015), pp. 527-528
[2]
J.L. Lopez-Campos, J.B. Soriano, M. Calle, 3E Project.
Inter-regional changes in the performance and interpretation of spirometry in Spain: 3E study [Article in English, Spanish].
Arch Bronconeumol, 50 (2014), pp. 475-483
[3]
J. Hueto, P. Cebollero, I. Pascal, J.A. Cascante, V.M. Eguía, F. Teruel, et al.
Spirometry in primary care in Navarre, Spain [Article in Spanish].
Arch Bronconeumol, 42 (2006), pp. 326-331
[4]
J.L. Lopez-Campos, J.B. Soriano, M. Calle, Encuesta de Espirometría en España (3E) Project.
A comprehensive, national survey of spirometry in Spain: current bottlenecks and future directions in primary and secondary care.
Chest, 144 (2013), pp. 601-609
[5]
J.L. Lopez-Campos, J.B. Soriano, M. Calle, 3E Project.
Determinants of use of the bronchodilator test in primary and secondary care: results of a national survey in Spain.
[6]
J.M. Olaguibel Rivera, M.J. Alvarez Puebla, C. Cela Vizcaino, K. Cambra Contin, M.P. Uribe San Martin, B. de Esteban Chocarro.
Spirometry quality in preschool children [Article in Spanish].
An Sist Sanit Navar, 37 (2014), pp. 81-89
[7]
K.B. Stevens, D.U. Pfeiffer.
Spatial modelling of disease using data- and knowledge-driven approaches.
Spat Spatiotemporal Epidemiol, 2 (2011), pp. 125-133

Please cite this article as: Lopez-Campos JL, Soriano JB, Calle M, en representación del Proyecto 3E. Calidad de los datos de las espirometrías en España: estudio 3E. Arch Bronconeumol. 2016;52:109.

3E Project members are in Appendix A.

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