- With these 1.100 home spirometers, patients with cystic fibrosis, lung transplantation, severe asthma and other minority chronic respiratory pathologies can do spirometry at home, the most important test to assess respiratory capacity, detect lung exacerbations and evaluate the response to treatment
- Performing spirometry at home empowers the patient, reduces hospital visits and, consequently, the risk of cross-infections and the saturation of consultations
- The Daniel Bravo Andreu Private Foundation already donated a hundred of these home spirometers to Vall d'Hebron in 2021 for cystic fibrosis and lung transplant patients
The Daniel Bravo Andreu Private Foundation has donated 1.100 home spirometers to Vall d'Hebron University Hospital, Parc Taulí University Hospital and Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona Hospital for patients with cystic fibrosis, lung transplantation, severe asthma and others minority chronic respiratory diseases, both minors and adults. Home spirometry is the most important test to assess respiratory capacity, detect pulmonary exacerbations and evaluate the response to treatment in patients with respiratory pathologies.
Of these 1.100 spirometers donated by the Daniel Bravo Andreu Private Foundation, Vall d'Hebron has received 900 spirometers, Parc Taulí 130 spirometers and Sant Joan de Déu 70. The home spirometers donated by the Daniel Bravo Andreu Private Foundation are easy to use for part of the users, do not require calibration and have a nozzle with easy cleaning and reusable. They allow patients to self-assess their response to treatment and detect lung exacerbations or lung transplant rejection. Spirometry data is recorded and transmitted to an application. Healthcare professionals also receive a PDF report and can consult the results on an online platform. All patients with cystic fibrosis and lung transplants who need it and also patients with severe asthma and other minority respiratory pathologies will receive a spirometer to perform spirometry at home thanks to the donation. With home spirometry the patient is empowered, improves knowledge of his disease and can perform these respiratory capacity tests more frequently. It also reduces the risk of cross-infections by reducing hospital visits and avoiding overcrowding of consultations.
Dr. Óscar Asensio, coordinator of the Pneumology, Allergy and Pediatric Clinical Immunology Unit-Cystic Fibrosis Unit at Parc Taulí, emphasized that "with this new tool, patients can be monitored from their home, avoiding travel. Monitoring is no longer so exhaustive and improves your personal autonomy". Spirometers have allowed “have a real-time reference of how the patient is, at any time. It is very important to monitor the patient's condition and the evolution of the disease".
From Vall d'Hebron, Dr. Albert Salazar, manager of the Vall d'Hebron University Hospital, explains that, thanks to this donation, "we will be able to improve the monitoring of these patients, who have complex pathologies and that require continuous monitoring, and their health outcomes".
For his part, Dr. Antonio Moreno, Head of Pediatrics and Pediatric Pneumology and Cystic Fibrosis at Vall d'Hebron, points out that "the boys, girls, teenagers and adults who are using the home spirometers are very satisfied. The little ones measure their lung function in the form of a game and incorporate it as a routine; adolescents improve self-care and responsibility for their lung disease; and among adults, absenteeism from work is also reduced." In the specific case of lung transplant patients, "monitoring pulmonary function through spirometry is essential to monitor the proper functioning of the graft", emphasizes Dr. Antonio Moreno. In the adult transplant population, who are particularly vulnerable patients, spirometers allow a more thorough monitoring of lung function and less disruption in their daily activity, as patients have less work absenteeism. In addition, spirometers allow early detection of the decline in lung function, which is the main indicator of graft dysfunction, and, in this way, therapeutic intervention before the spirometric decline is irreversible and rejection occurs chronic The fact that hospital visits are reduced also reduces the risk of infections. In the case of patients transplanted from other communities, this tool enables remote follow-up and avoids unnecessary travel.
The Daniel Bravo Andreu Private Foundation already donated a hundred of these home spirometers to Vall d'Hebron in 2021 for cystic fibrosis and lung transplant patients. "It was a pilot test that had excellent results among patients and professionals", adds Dr. Antonio Moreno.
Dr. Maria Cols, head of the Pediatric Pneumology Section and the Cystic Fibrosis Unit at Hospital Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona, considers that home spirometers "they represent a new tool for monitoring lung function that allows us to do a good remote monitoring from the hospital, both in the patient's basal state and in moments of clinical worsening”, and adds that “this remote control is very positive from the point of view of the patient's experience, as it gives families the peace of mind that everything is in order when the results are as expected, it allows for earlier detection of exacerbations of the disease, as well as remotely monitor the response to the treatments instituted, which saves visits and, therefore, the loss of class or work hours".
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