Validation of cough peak flow assessment using a spirometer in healthy young adults

A validation study of the agreement with Cough peak flow measurements with a peak flow meter and the appropriateness of cough assessment

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the difference in cough peak flow (CPF) values when measured using an automatic spirometer (CPF(S)) and a peak flow meter (CPF(P)) in 44 healthy young adults. The agreement between values was verified using the BlandAltman analysis. Furthermore, the reproducibility of each CPF value and the validity of the cough assessment method were also determined. CPF(S) values were lower than the CPF(P) values, with a significant fixed error (p<0.001) and proportional error (p<0.001). In addition, the intraclass correlation coefficients were 0.900 and 0.941 for CPF(S) and CPF(P),respectively. There was a significant correlation between each CPF and cough-related indices, and the validity was confirmed. Overall, these findings indicate that the CPF(S) and CPF(P) values differed and that the CPF(S) method was sufficiently suitable for cough strength assessment.