Validity and reliability of adventitious computerised respiratory sounds in COPD

Abstract

Computerised adventitious respiratory sounds have been indicated as a promising outcome measure to monitor small changes in lung function of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Nevertheless, before a measure can be used in clinical practice its measurement properties (e.g., reliability and validity) should be tested. Results showed that adventitious respiratory sounds, specially number of crackles, when recorded in the inspiratory phase have excellent reliability and moderate validity to assess lung function in patients with COPD. Thus, crackles might be a promising measure to monitor lung function in patients with COPD.