The SPIRO-MOTE Study

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Multicentre Prospective Cohort Study of Remote Lung Function Testing in Children: validation and comparison of supervised and unsupervised spirometry

• IRAS ID

  286220

• Contact name

  Heather Elphick

• Contact email

  h.elphick@nhs.net

• Sponsor organisation

  Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust

• Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier

  NCT05960344

• Duration of Study in the UK

  0 years, 8 months, 31 days

• Research summary

  Research summary

  Heightened pressure on healthcare services has resulted in the increase of self-management for patients with chronic conditions. This move has become much more important in a short space of time due to the recent Coronavirus pandemic which has changed the way people can access healthcare and will leave a legacy of change.

  Rapid developments in modern technology have enabled patients to monitor aspects of their condition at home which would previously require a hospital visit. This is particularly relevant for children with long-term respiratory conditions where their lung function is measured using spirometry to aid diagnostic assessment and monitor changes in disease severity. Portable Bluetooth enabled spirometry devices are now available for children to use at home which allow parents to send objective test results directly to their hospital clinical care team.

  Adoption of these devices has been accelerated out of necessity due to the pandemic but the data they produce in children and adolescents has not yet been fully validated. Furthermore, it is not known whether the reliability of results is affected when children perform spirometry without expert supervision and how patients and families feel about having these devices to do tests at home.

  This study therefore aims to compare the results generated by portable spirometry devices to those achieved from a gold-standard test conducted in a pulmonary function testing laboratory in a cohort of children with and without underlying respiratory conditions. We will also compare the results generated when using the devices at home with and without expert supervision and ask children and their families to provide feedback concerning their experience of using the devices.

  Validating portable spirometers will enable healthcare practitioners to be confident in delivering clinical services in different and more innovative ways with a move away from all hospital-based care.

  Summary Results

  The SPIRO-MOTE study aimed to explore whether:
  • Portable devices for measuring the function of the lungs (spirometers) can measure as accurately as hospital based equipment
  • Measurements taken at home are as good if the device is used unsupervised compared to being supervised by a healthcare professional
  • Children, young people (CYP) and their families find it acceptable to use the portable device at home

  The study found that portable spirometers provide accurate measurements when compared with hospital based equipment. However, there may be acceptable variability in results in some younger children. CYP with experience of using a portable spirometer at home can produce unsupervised spirometry test results equivalent to those performed with a healthcare professional. The study results also suggested that portable spirometers for use at home are considered acceptable, convenient and empower caregivers to monitor lung function to support better self-management. The study findings support remote monitoring of lung conditions for patient-centred care.

• REC name

  Wales REC 5

• REC reference

  21/WA/0024

• Date of REC Opinion

  27 Jan 2021

• REC opinion

  Favourable Opinion