Tuberc Respir Dis.  2011 Apr;70(4):293-300.

Early Diagnosis and Management of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

• Lee SW
• Yoo JH
• Park MJ
• Kim EK
• Yoon HI
• Kim DK
• Lee CH
• Park YB
• Park JH
• Hwang YI
• Jung KS
• Yoo KH
• Park HY
• Lee JS
• Huh JW
• Oh YM
• Lim SY
• Jung JY
• Kim YS
• Kim HJ
• Rhee CK
• Kim YK
• Kim JW
• Yoon HK
• Lee SD

Abstract

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a substantially under-diagnosed disorder, and the diagnosis is usually delayed until the disease is advanced. However, the benefit of early diagnosis is not yet clear, and there are no guidelines in Korea for doing early diagnosis. This review highlights several issues regarding early diagnosis of COPD. On the basis of several lines of evidence, early diagnosis seems quite necessary and beneficial to patients. Early diagnosis can be approached by several methods, but it should be confirmed by quality-controlled spirometry. Compared with its potential benefit, the adverse effects of spirometry or pharmacotherapy appear relatively small. Although it is difficult to evaluate the benefit of early diagnosis by well-designed trials, several lines of evidence suggest that we should try to diagnose and manage patients with COPD at early stages of the disease.

Keyword

Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive; Early Diagnosis; Spirometry

MeSH Terms

Early Diagnosis
Humans
Korea
Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive
Spirometry

Figure

• 

  Figure 1 Schematic frame for early diagnosis of COPD in Korea. COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; FEV1: forced expiratory volume in one second; FVC: forced vital capacity; LLN: lower limit of normal.

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