Hanyang Med Rev.  2005 Nov;25(4):32-39.

Clinical History and Diagnosis of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

• Kim SK

Abstract

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD) is a crucial public health problem and a major cause of disability and death throughout the world. To decrease morbidity and mortality from COPD, a number of new clinical guidelines have been published over the years. Recently, the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease(GOLD) Expert Panel's global strategy of the diagnosis, management, and prevention of COPD was published and updated in 2004. In addition, the full version of the new National Institute for Clinical Excellence(NICE) guidelines on the management of COPD was published. Based on these guidelines, this article covers the key points of clinical history and diagnosis in patients with COPD. The diagnosis of COPD can be made on the basis of a typical history of persistent progressive symptoms, appropriate risk factors such as cigarette smoking, and a confirmatory spirometric test of the presence of the airflow limitation that does not return to normal after bronchodilator administration. Spirometry is the current gold standard in the diagnosis and assessment of COPD, because it is the most reproducible, standardized, and objective way of measuring airflow limitation. FEV(1)/FVC <70% and a postbronchodilator FEV(1)<80% of predicted confirms the presence of airflow limitation.

Keyword

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD); Clinical history; Diagnosis

MeSH Terms

Diagnosis*
Humans
Lung
Mortality
Public Health
Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive*
Risk Factors
Smoking
Spirometry