scholarly journals The Importance of Appropriate Diagnosis in the Practical Management of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Diagnostics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 618
Author(s):  
Naozumi Hashimoto ◽  
Keiko Wakahara ◽  
Koji Sakamoto

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.

Genes ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 783 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ozretić ◽  
da Silva Filho ◽  
Catalano ◽  
Sokolović ◽  
Vukić-Dugac ◽  
...  

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a chronic disease characterized by a progressive decline in lung function due to airflow limitation, mainly related to IL-1β-induced inflammation. We have hypothesized that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in NLRP genes, coding for key regulators of IL-1β, are associated with pathogenesis and clinical phenotypes of COPD. We recruited 704 COPD individuals and 1238 healthy controls for this study. Twenty non-synonymous SNPs in 10 different NLRP genes were genotyped. Genetic associations were estimated using logistic regression, adjusting for age, gender, and smoking history. The impact of genotypes on patients’ overall survival was analyzed with the Kaplan–Meier method with the log-rank test. Serum IL-1β concentration was determined by high sensitivity assay and expression analysis was done by RT-PCR. Decreased lung function, measured by a forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1% predicted), was significantly associated with the minor allele genotypes (AT + TT) of NLRP1 rs12150220 (p = 0.0002). The same rs12150220 genotypes exhibited a higher level of serum IL-1β compared to the AA genotype (p = 0.027) in COPD patients. NLRP8 rs306481 minor allele genotypes (AG + AA) were more common in the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) definition of group A (p = 0.0083). Polymorphisms in NLRP1 (rs12150220; OR = 0.55, p = 0.03) and NLRP4 (rs12462372; OR = 0.36, p = 0.03) were only nominally associated with COPD risk. In conclusion, coding polymorphisms in NLRP1 rs12150220 show an association with COPD disease severity, indicating that the fine-tuning of the NLRP1 inflammasome could be important in maintaining lung tissue integrity and treating the chronic inflammation of airways.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriella H. Long ◽  
Thomas Southworth ◽  
Umme Kolsum ◽  
Gavin C. Donaldson ◽  
Jadwiga A. Wedzicha ◽  
...  

AbstractBlood eosinophils are a predictive biomarker of inhaled corticosteroid response in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We investigated blood eosinophil stability over 1 year using the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) 2019 thresholds of < 100, 100- < 300 and ≥ 300 eosinophils/μL in 225 patients from the COPDMAP cohort. Blood eosinophils showed good stability (rho: 0.71, p < 0.001, ICC 0.84), and 69.3% of patients remained in the same eosinophil category at 1 year. 85.3% of patients with eosinophils < 100 cells/μL had stable counts. The majority of blood eosinophil counts remain stable over 1 year using the GOLD 2019 thresholds.


2005 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Caramori ◽  
G. Bettoncelli ◽  
R. Tosatto ◽  
F. Arpinelli ◽  
G. Visonà ◽  
...  

Background. The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) underlines that spirometry is the gold standard as the most reproducible, standardised, and objective way of measuring airflow limitation in the diagnosis and assessment of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). However, studies undertaken in different countries have suggested a widespread underuse of spirometry by general practitioners to establish the diagnosis of COPD. Precise estimates of the prevalence of physician-diagnosed COPD in Italy are not currently available. In collaboration with the Italian Academy of General practitioners (SIMG) we have investigated the degree of use of spirometry to establish the diagnosis of COPD in Italy. Methods. A standardised questionnaire has been selfadministered to a sample of 2425 Italian general practitioners (representing 5% of all the Italian doctors involved in general practice). They have been chosen to cover each of the Italian counties. Results. The prevalence of physician-diagnosed COPD was found to be approximately 4%. However, 30% of general practitioners do not use spirometry to establish the diagnosis of COPD. The main reasons given for the failure to use spirometry are (i) that spirometry is not necessary for the diagnosis of COPD or (ii) there are logistical limitations to the access of the patients to lung function laboratories. Conclusions. This data suggests that contrary to GOLD Guidelines, in Italy, as with other countries, spirometry is not always used in the diagnosis of COPD. There is a clear necessity for further education initiatives targeted to this group of physicians.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 330-343
Author(s):  
S. N. Avdeev ◽  
Z. R. Aisanov ◽  
V. V. Arkhipov ◽  
A. S. Belevskiy ◽  
I. V. Leshchenko ◽  
...  

The main objectives of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) therapy are to reduce the severity of symptoms and the risk of exacerbations. The article discusses the role of local and systemic inflammation in the pathogenesis of COPD as well as various mechanisms of pharmacological influence on it. Approaches to prescribing basic therapy for patients with COPD, recommended by various national and global guidelines (clinical recommendations of the Russian respiratory society, criteria of the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD), guidelines of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE)), as well as recommendations on the therapy frequency review are considered. Currently, so-called triple combinations – fixed combinations of double bronchodilators with inhaled glucocorticosteroids – are being developed and registered in the world, and their place and significance in the treatment of COPD raise many discussions. The paper discusses the role of fixed triple combinations in reducing the incidence of COPD exacerbations, the impact on functional and patient-reported outcomes, and provides recommendations for the use of triple combinations in patients with COPD, taking into account the benefit/risk ratio.


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