Characteristics of studies evaluating handheld flow meters (4 studies)14 22 23 26
| Characteristic | Range/number of studies | |
|---|---|---|
| Study designs | Cross-sectional test accuracy study | 4 |
| Participants | 305–2464 | |
| Mean age (years) | 52.0–65.3 | |
| Male (%) | 43.3–99.7 | |
| Required smoking status | Only current/ex-smokers | 3 |
| Included never-smokers | 1 | |
| Required respiratory symptoms | 0 | |
| Setting | General practice(s) | 4 |
| Number of centres | 4–25 | |
| Multicentre | 4 | |
| Recruitment strategy | Active | 1 |
| Opportunistic | 2 | |
| Active and opportunistic | 1 | |
| Handheld flow meter | ||
| Device | Piko-6 | 3 |
| COPD-6 | 1 | |
| Operator | Nurse | 2 |
| GP | 1 | |
| Not reported | 1 | |
| Use of BD | Pre-BD | 3 |
| Post-BD | 1 | |
| Test threshold | FEV1/FEV6< | 0.70–0.75 |
| Reference test—spirometry | ||
| Post-BD | 4 | |
| Definition of airflow obstruction | Post-BD FEV1/FVC <0.7 | 4 |
| Included symptoms in definition of COPD | 0 | |
| Spirometry quality control | Yes | 2 |
| No | 1 | |
| Unclear | 1 | |
| Range of results | ||
| Sensitivity | 79–86% | |
| Specificity | 71–99% | |
| Severity of new COPD cases | ≥80% | 35–48% |
| (FEV1% predicted)3 | 50–80% | 48–65% |
| <50% | 0–16% | |
BD, bronchodilator; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 s; FVC, forced vital capacity; GP, general practitioner.