当前对COPD的诊断过于草率

家庭医生经常根据患者症状和吸烟史就诊断慢性阻塞性肺病(COPD)。为了进一步明确诊断，患者应当接受肺活量(肺功能) 检测。
Hines退伍军人事务医院(Hines, IL, USA) Todd A. Lee和他的同事在2006年7月《胸腔》上报道说，大约60%新近诊断为COPD的患者没有接受过肺活量的检测。“这导致的结果是不是COPD的患者接受了不必要的长期治疗。
该报道的作者说，美国心胸学会、欧洲呼吸学会和全球慢性阻塞性肺病全球首创的指南都提示，肺活量的检测对COPD而言是十分必需的。

COPD Is Being Diagnosed Too Hastily
Family physicians frequently diagnose chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) according to patient’s symptoms and smoking history. In order to obtain a definitive diagnosis, the patient should also undergo a spirometry (lung function) test.
Approximately 60% of patients newly diagnosed with COPD did not receive spirometry testing, reported Todd A. Lee, PharmD., Ph.D., of the Hines Veterans Affairs Hospital (Hines, IL, USA), and colleagues in the July 2006 issue of the journal Chest. “As a result patients who do not have COPD may be receiving unnecessary chronic therapy,” said Dr. Lee.
The authors of the report said that guidelines from the American Thoracic Society, the European Respiratory Society, and the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease all indicate that spirometry is necessary to diagnose COPD.