Test-retest reliability and concurrent validity of a digital manovacuometer

The manovacuometer is a simple, quick and non-invasive test which measures the maximal respiratory pressures (MRS). Guidelines recommend the use of a digital manovacuometer due to its high accuracy. The purpose of this study was to assess the test-retest reliability and concurrent validity of a digital manovacuometer in measuring the maximal inspiratory and expiratory pressures (MIP/MEP) and nasal inspiratory pressure while sniffing (SNIP). A total of 30 healthy subjects were assessed (20-30 years old) using the UFMG and MicroRPM(r) (Micro Medical, UK) digital manovacuometers. To assess reliability, Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) and Student's t test it was used for dependent samples. For the validity assessment, the following were used: Pearson correlation, Student's t test for dependent samples, linear regression and the Bland-Altman method. The level of significance was set at 5% (p<0.05). The ICC values were significant and showed a good magnitude (0.76 to 0.89) and no significant differences were found between the means of the variables of the UFMG digital manovacuometer analyzed within two days (p>0.05); the correlation between observed values from the two instruments was of high magnitude for all variables (0.82 to 0.85); no significant difference was found between the values obtained for both instruments (p>0.05); a strong association was observed between measures of MIP and MEP obtained by the two methods and Bland-Altman analysis showed no systematic overestimation or underestimation of maximal respiratory pressures and SNIP. In conclusion, the results suggest that the UFMG manovacuometer is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing MIP, MEP and SNIP in healthy subjects.