Spirometry events

Spirometry testing event, Berlin 2008

This year’s European Lung Foundation (ELF)/ European Respiratory Society (ERS) spirometry event will take place in Berlin, Germany at the ERS Congress. The ELF would like to express its sincere thanks to Boehringer Ingelheim for its financial support, without which the event would not be possible.

Spirometry is a test of how well you can breathe and can help in the diagnosis of different lung diseases. The test is painless and usually takes less than 10 minutes, but requires some hard blowing. You breathe into a small device called a spirometer, which measures the amount of air you can blow out of your lungs and how fast this can be done.

If you choose to have your lungs tested, you will be seen by a nurse or doctor in an individual booth. They will explain and demonstrate the test before you are asked to blow into the spirometer as hard as you can.

This public lung function testing event will be held on Straße des 17. Juni, between the Brandenburg Gate and the Victory Column. It will be run by the ELF in collaboration with the Deutsch Gesellschaft für Pneumologie (DGP), Deutsch Atemwegsliga (AWL) and the Deutsche Lungenstiftung (DLS). The event aims to encourage people to think about the health of their lungs and to raise awareness of chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD).

The spirometry event coincides with the celebrations of the Day of German Unity so if you are visiting the area, why not come along and test the strength of your lungs? Testing starts at 13:00 on Friday 3 October and finishes on Sunday 5 October at 18:00.

We very much hope to smash last year’s record of 2,882 people tested so please pay us a visit and help us achieve our goal!

Spirometry testing event, Stockholm 2007

This year’s European Lung Foundation (ELF)/ European Respiratory Society (ERS) spirometry event took place in Stockholm’s central railway station during the 17th Annual Congress in Sweden, which attracted over 15,000 respiratory professionals to Stockholm.

The main aim of the event was to raise awareness of lung health among local citizens.

The excellent central location encouraged commuters and shoppers of Stockholm to find out about lung health and disease and to learn about chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD).

The event was open for a total of 24 hours over 2 days, in an attempt to beat last year’s record of 2042 individuals, tested in Munich, Germany. Members of the public who had decided to have their lungs tested were seen by a volunteer nurse, in 1 of 18 individual booths. Individuals were asked to blow as hard as they could for 6 seconds into a hand held spirometer. Several doctors and representatives from smoking cessation groups were available on site for individuals to speak to if they wanted any further advice or information.

3 blows were taken from each person to produce an accurate average FEV1 reading. FEV1 is an indication of how much air can be forced out of your lungs in 1 second after taking a deep breath, to provide an important measure of pulmonary function.

The event proved to be hugely popular and attracted passers by and local workers who were happy to visit during lunch breaks and wait, despite the queues. The final number of individuals tested was 2882, 85.5% of whom showed acceptable FEV1 measurements.

Members of the general public who were found to have restricted airways were given guidance from doctors and advised to visit their own GP with the information produced from their lung test

Thank-you to all the taskforce whose hard work and support made this year’s event a record success. Our aim of beating last year’s total was easily achieved and has raised the standard for next year in Berlin!

Sincere thanks to the following partners:

• The Stockholm Task Force, including the Congress Chairs, and Inger Kull and Anne Renström,
• All volunteer nurses and doctors for pledging their valuable time.
• The generous financial support of Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, without which the event would not be possible.
• The generous contribution of equipment and professional support from ndd Medizintechnik AG.
• The collaboration of Järnhusen AB and JC Decaux, for allowing the event to take place in the Central station.
• Dohrns exhibitions and Mix PR for their hard work on the project.
• Swedish patient interest groups and lung foundations for contributing to the local lung health awareness campaign.

Spirometry testing event, Munich 2006

Munich “blows” for healthy lungs: This was the slogan for the 2006 European Lung Foundation (ELF)/ERS spirometry event, which took place in Munich city centre on the Odeonsplatz on Friday and Saturday, September 1 and 2, 2006.

The event aimed to raise public awareness of lung disease in general and COPD in particular, as part of the ELF’s mission to promote lung diseases to the public on behalf of the ERS.

Record results

The final number tested was over 2,000 – a new record for this event. For the first time, the results from all the tests are going to be combined with the questionnaires completed by each participant.

Copenhagen 2005

In Copenhagen in 2005, the Spirometry Tent was set up in the Town Hall Square in the centre of the city.

Over 1000 members of the public had their lungs tested and 1 in 4 of those who took the test discovered they had some kind of airway obstruction.