Görek Dilektaşlı Aslı, Börekçi Şermin, Akkoca Yıldız Öznur, Gemicioğlu Bilun, Saltürk Cüneyt, Saryal Sevgi Behiye, Ulubay Gaye
Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Bursa Uludağ University Faculty of Medicine, Bursa, Türkiye
Department of Pulmonary Diseases, İstanbul University-Cerrahpaşa, Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine, İstanbul, Türkiye
Thorac Res Pract. 2025 Apr 30;26(3):137-144. doi: 10.4274/ThoracResPract.2025.2025-1-12. Epub 2025 Apr 8.
Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) presented considerable challenges to health services, particularly for a routine assessment method, the pulmonary function tests (PFTs), which can generate aerosols and require sharing common surfaces. Despite these risks, there is a need to continue testing, especially for vulnerable patient groups.
An online survey was conducted from June 1 to June 26, 2020, to assess pulmonologists’ practices regarding PFTs before and during the pandemic’s first peak in Türkiye (March 11-May 20, 2020). The survey included 30 anonymized questions and received ethical committee approval. Statistical analysis was performed using the IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences statistical package.
Two hundred and forty-three respondents across 59 cities participated in the study. 93% were pulmonologists. 77.4% of PFT labs have adequate ventilation by having a window enabling room direct air exchange. 27.2% of the PFT labs continued testing during the first peak of the pandemic. 83.3% of the responding centers applied triage before testing. Ongoing tests included spirometry (100%), bronchodilator reversibility testing (62.1%), and carbon-monoxide diffusion testing (16.7%). 49% of the PFT labs conducted fewer than four tests daily, while 21.2% performed more than eight. PFT technicians used personal protective equipment, with 67.7% using eye protection and 75.3 % wearing FFP3 or FFP2 masks.
The survey found that pulmonologists have acted quickly and made moderate success in making preparations in PFT labs for the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, safer practice in PFT units still needs to be implemented.
2019冠状病毒病（COVID-19）给医疗服务带来了巨大挑战，尤其是对于一种常规评估方法——肺功能测试（PFTs）而言，该测试会产生气溶胶且需要共用一些表面。尽管存在这些风险，但仍有必要继续进行检测，特别是针对弱势群体。
于2020年6月1日至6月26日开展了一项在线调查，以评估土耳其在疫情首个高峰期（2020年3月11日至5月20日）之前及期间肺科医生关于肺功能测试的操作情况。该调查包含30个匿名问题，并获得了伦理委员会的批准。使用IBM社会科学统计软件包进行统计分析。
来自59个城市的243名受访者参与了该研究。其中93%为肺科医生。77.4%的肺功能测试实验室通过设有可实现房间直接空气交换的窗户而具备充足的通风条件。27.2%的肺功能测试实验室在疫情首个高峰期仍继续进行检测。83.3%的应答中心在检测前进行了分诊。正在进行的检测包括肺活量测定（100%）、支气管扩张剂可逆性检测（62.1%）和一氧化碳扩散检测（16.7%）。49%的肺功能测试实验室每天进行的检测少于4次，而21.2%的实验室每天进行的检测超过8次。肺功能测试技术人员使用了个人防护装备，其中67.7%使用了眼部防护装备，75.3%佩戴了FFP3或FFP2口罩。
该调查发现，肺科医生行动迅速，在为COVID-19大流行对肺功能测试实验室进行准备方面取得了一定成功。然而，肺功能测试单位仍需实施更安全的操作。
