Diagnosis problems in lung disease

By Geoff Michaels, May 14th, 2013 | Health | 0 Comments

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are often misdiagnosed or remain undiagnosed, according to a study.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive lung disorder characterized by breathlessness and increasing disability. According to a survey of nearly 600 patients by doctors at the University of Aberdeen, COPD is misdiagnosed and undiagnosed in many cases.

These patients had not been diagnosed with COPD, but were taking medication consistent with obstructive lung disease. Spirometry testing showed that 40 per cent of the group actually had COPD. Of these, just over half had been diagnosed with asthma, ten per cent had not been diagnosed with obstructive lung disease (despite their medication) and the rest had been diagnosed with either emphysema or chronic bronchitis (both component diseases of COPD).

This is a worrying level of misdiagnosis and lack of diagnosis. Those with COPD can be helped with medication and should make smoking cessation a priority. But what they need most is an early and accurate diagnosis. The researchers point out that a simple symptom-based questionnaire can help pick up patients with COPD. Using this on 1,000 at risk patients would lead to 297 spirometric exams and 110 new diagnoses of COPD.