Neethu Sreekumar and Gopika T. G., students of the 2010 batch of Respiratory Therapy at the Amrita School of Medicine received special appreciation for their paper presentations at the recently concluded National Respiratory Care Conference.

The three-day conference was organized by the Association of Respiratory Care, India and the Manipal College of Allied Health Sciences.

Neethu’s paper titled Successful Spirometry – Key Points discussed the significance of reducing errors in pulmonary function tests (PFTs).

PFTs are performed to understand the efficiency of inhalation and exhalation of air by a person’s lungs. The tests help to diagnose lung diseases especially asthma, bronchitis and emphysema. Among PFTs, spirometry is the most common.

“Spirometry measures the airflow from fully inflated lungs. The patient is asked to take the deepest breath possible and is then asked to blow into the spirometer, which measures the lung capacity,” explained Neethu, elaborating on method of administration of the test.

The manoeuvre is completely dependent on effort made by the patient and the accuracy of the result is directly proportional to the quality of the procedure. Hence, minimizing errors becomes important.

Errors are common in spirometry tests due to inaccuracy of the equipment, coughing, slow expiration and incomplete expiration of air.

“I chose this topic for my presentation in order to create awareness among respiratory therapists of the need to make the tests more accurate,” shared Neethu.

Gopika’s paper investigated the effect of deep breathing exercises on pulmonary function following surgical procedures like thoracotomy, lobectomy, bullectomy and pneumonectomy.

The paper was titled Effect of Spontaneous Deep Breathing Exercises in Post Thoracotomy Patients.

“Practice of deep breathing exercises enhances positive outcomes for patients such as restoring the normal respiratory rate, reducing the risk of lung infections, increasing the forced vital capacity of the lungs and decreasing the ICU stay,” the student wrote.

Apart from the paper presentations, Amrita students also participated in cultural competitions. An Amrita group won the first prize for semi-classical dance.

“We would like to acknowledge the achievement of all the students of 2010 batch of Respiratory Therapy,” stated Mr. Jithin, In-charge of the Division of Respiratory Therapy.

January 18, 2012
School of Medicine, Kochi