The use of spirometers in general practice

Objective: To describe the current use of spirometers in primary care in the UK. Design and Subjects: A postal questionnaire was sent to all 548 members of the GPs in Asthma Group (GPIAG), who have a special interest in asthma, and to 2000 randomly selected GPs throughout the UK. Results: Responses were received from 349 (64%) of the GPIAG members and 582 (29%) of the random group. Spirometers were present in 175 practices (50%) of GPIAG members and 186 (32%) of the random group. A hand-held digital spirometer was used by 61% of all respondents. Only 25% of GPs without a spirometer wished to buy one, while 60% would choose an open access hospital service instead. Conclusions: Spirometry is under-used in general practice and many GPs would prefer a hospital open access service rather than buy a spirometer themselves. This implies an increased need for training and expansion of hospital spirometry services in the future.