Abstract
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is projected to continue to contribute to an increase in the overall worldwide burden of disease until 2030. Therefore, an accurate assessment of the risk of airway obstruction in patients with COPD has become vitally important. Although the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD), the American Thoracic Society (ATS) and European Respiratory Society (ERS), and the Japanese Respiratory Society (JRS) provide the criteria by which to diagnose COPD, many studies suggest that it is in fact underdiagnosed. Its prevalence increases, while the impact of COPD-related systemic comorbidities is also increasingly recognized in clinical aspects of COPD. Although a recent report suggests that spirometry should not be used to screen for airflow limitation in individuals without respiratory symptoms, the early detection of COPD in patients with no, or few, symptoms is an opportunity to provide appropriate management based on COPD guidelines. Clinical advances have been made in pharmacotherapeutic approaches to COPD. This article provides a current understanding of the importance of an appropriate diagnosis in the real-world management of COPD.
Highlights
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is projected to continue to contribute to an increase in the worldwide burden of disease until 2030 [1]
An official statement of the American College of Physicians (ACP), American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), American Thoracic Society (ATS), and European Respiratory Society (ERS), does not recommend the evaluation of airflow limitations by respiratory function testing in patients without respiratory symptoms [2], many studies suggest that COPD is under-diagnosed
World-wide cohort studies suggest that the prevalence of COPD is estimated to be about 10% to 14% [12,13]
Summary
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is projected to continue to contribute to an increase in the worldwide burden of disease until 2030 [1]. An official statement of the American College of Physicians (ACP), American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), ATS, and ERS, does not recommend the evaluation of airflow limitations by respiratory function testing in patients without respiratory symptoms [2], many studies suggest that COPD is under-diagnosed. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus responsible for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, has infected over 100.0 million people around the world and caused more than over 2.2 million deaths [6], there is mounting evidence that COPD may be a risk factor for more severe COVID-19 disease [7]
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