CRE Data Analysis & Reporting 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A respiratory educator reviews spirometry data showing an FEV1/FVC ratio of 0.65 post-bronchodilator. How should this finding be classified?
- Normal airflow
- Obstructive pattern (Correct answer)
- Restrictive pattern
- Mixed pattern
Correct answer: Obstructive pattern
An FEV1/FVC ratio below 0.70 post-bronchodilator confirms obstructive airflow limitation per GOLD criteria.
Question 2: When analyzing peak flow variability data, a diurnal variation greater than what percentage is generally considered significant for asthma diagnosis?
- 5%
- 10%
- 20% (Correct answer)
- 30%
Correct answer: 20%
Peak flow diurnal variability greater than 20% is a significant indicator of airway instability consistent with asthma.
Question 3: A CRE is evaluating a patient's 6-minute walk test results over three visits. Distance decreased from 420m to 380m to 350m. What trend does this data suggest?
- Stable functional capacity
- Progressive decline in exercise tolerance (Correct answer)
- Measurement error requiring retesting
- Improvement then plateau
Correct answer: Progressive decline in exercise tolerance
A consistent decrease in 6MWT distance across serial measurements indicates progressive decline in functional exercise capacity.
Question 4: Which statistical measure is most appropriate to report when summarizing FEV1 percent predicted values across a heterogeneous patient population?
- Mode
- Range
- Mean with standard deviation
- Median with interquartile range (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Median with interquartile range
Median with IQR is preferred for skewed or heterogeneous distributions, providing a more robust central tendency estimate.
Question 5: A pulmonary rehab program reports a 15% improvement in 6MWT distance. Which additional data point would best contextualize clinical significance?
- Patient age
- Minimal clinically important difference (MCID) (Correct answer)
- Number of rehab sessions attended
- Baseline BMI
Correct answer: Minimal clinically important difference (MCID)
The MCID for 6MWT (approximately 25-35m) determines whether a percentage change reflects a meaningful clinical benefit.
Question 6: In an educational program outcome report, a CRE notes that 60% of COPD patients achieved target inhaler technique scores. What type of data is this?
- Continuous data
- Ordinal data
- Nominal data
- Proportional/rate data (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Proportional/rate data
A percentage of patients achieving a target represents proportional data, expressing outcomes as rates or proportions.
Question 7: A respiratory educator compares pre- and post-education SpO2 readings during exercise. Which statistical test is most appropriate for this paired data?
- Chi-square test
- Independent samples t-test
- Paired t-test (Correct answer)
- ANOVA
Correct answer: Paired t-test
A paired t-test is used to compare means from the same subjects measured at two time points, controlling for individual variability.
CRE Data Analysis & Reporting 2
A respiratory educator reviews spirometry data showing an FEV1/FVC ratio of 0.65 post-bronchodilator.
How should this finding be classified?