RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Development of a standardized sputum colour chart based on the natural colour system
JF European Respiratory Journal
JO Eur Respir J
FD European Respiratory Society
SP P826
VO 42
IS Suppl 57
A1 Sandrien Abbeel
A1 Pieter Goeminne
A1 David Ruttens
A1 Lieven Dupont
YR 2013
UL http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/42/Suppl_57/P826.abstract
AB Background: Currently, two sputum colour charts (SCC) are used in bronchiectatic disease. The SCC developed by Stockley1, consists of 9 colour fields. The SCC developed by Murray2, encompasses 8 sputum photographs. Both SCC have arbitrary gradations and are rather difficult to reproduce.Aimes: Development of a continuous, standardized and easy to reproduce SCC, based on the Natural Colour System (NCS).Methods: Every colour has an NCS code, composed of a darkness, a saturation and a hue. By comparing the photographs of the Murray chart with the NCS, we selected corresponding NCS hues. We have modified the saturation and darkness for each hue in order to achieve 17 successive colours per hue. The achieved colours were inserted in a 17x4 table. Printing with Docucolor 242 Xerox laser printer; brightness 85%.Results: A new, reproducible 17-part SCC, built up with NCS colours (figure 1). The spectrum is ranging from bright yellowish/greenish colours (low saturation-low darkness) to dark brown/green colours (high saturation-high darkness). In the vertical direction each section is composed of equivalent boxes that have a different hue but otherwise the same properties (same saturation and darkness).Conclusions: We developed a fluent, reproducible 17-part SCC encoded in the NCS. Further research is needed to assess its reliability and to evaluate the number of categories.1Stockley RA et al. Thorax 20012Murray MP et al. Eur Respir J 2009.