TY - JOUR T1 - Aerosol Safety in the Pulmonary Function Laboratory: A New Normal That Is Long Overdue? JF - Respiratory Care SP - 1058 LP - 1060 DO - 10.4187/respcare.10346 VL - 67 IS - 8 AU - Jeffrey M Haynes Y1 - 2022/08/01 UR - http://rc.rcjournal.com/content/67/8/1058.abstract N2 - Early in COVID-19 pandemic, out-patient medical services were markedly curtailed. Many pulmonary function laboratories were closed with the exception of tests deemed to be urgent. The determination of what constitutes an urgent test is subjective. One might deem a test ordered because of cough or dyspnea on exertion as non-urgent; however, I personally witnessed two patients with these symptoms have their pulmonary function tests (PFTs) postponed for months only to be later diagnosed with interstitial lung disease and tracheal stenosis, respectively. It became clear that out-patient services like pulmonary function testing needed to resume so that patients could be properly diagnosed and treated in a timely fashion. In my 30-plus years as a respiratory therapist and pulmonary function technologist, we only ever had to close our laboratory for a major New England blizzard that prevented safe travel. There wasn’t a book chapter or guideline on how to reopen a PFT laboratory safely during a pandemic. The European Respiratory Society (ERS), American Thoracic Society (ATS), and other respiratory societies issued guidance papers on the reopening of PFT laboratories; however, many of the recommendations were based on expert opinion because very little data existed.1-2 A survey of the ATS PFT Laboratory Registry and American Association for Respiratory Care Diagnostics Specialty Section conducted from August–October 2020 revealed that most laboratories were back open and had implemented measures such as wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), allowing gaps between patients for air exchanges, equipment disinfection, and patient screening.3 Many respondents reported a reduction in test volume due to the implementation of safety measures. … Correspondence: Jeffrey M Haynes RRT RPFT FAARC, Pulmonary Function Laboratory, Elliot Health System, 185 Queen City Avenue, Manchester, NH 03101. E-mail: jhaynes{at}elliot-hs.org ER -