Study: COPD test not used enough

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Aug. 14 (UPI) -- Spirometry, a widely accepted diagnostic tool for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, is not used enough, a U.S. study found.

"Without proper testing, both underdiagnosis and misdiagnosis may occur, which can lead to improper therapies being prescribed," lead author Dr. MeiLan Han of the University of Michigan, said in a statement. "This study shows that we have a lot of work ahead of us in terms of raising awareness among both patients and physician."

Han and colleagues from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, the University of Washington in Seattle and the National Committee for Quality Assurance identified 5,039 patients with COPD from five health plans.

The study, published in the journal Chest, found one-third of patients with a COPD diagnosis never received spirometry testing.

The study notes that the findings contradict previous findings that 70 percent of U.S. physicians reported using spirometry for establishing a COPD diagnosis. Han suggested a possible explanation is that what physicians say and what they actually do may differ.