Can early diagnosis and effective management combat the irresistible rise of COPD?

[摘要] My stoical patient in the oxygen clinic was newly diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), having presented in a coma with severe hypoxia and hypercapnia. His lungs had been deteriorating for decades, now the potential to help him is severely restricted. Such extreme presentations indicate the problem of late diagnosis. For a disease where decline is largely preventable, the sight of patients dying slowly of COPD should be a rarity — sadly it is becoming more common. Despite falling smoking rates, with the projected rise in the number of older patients, COPD prevalence is increasing, and the number of people with COPD reaching 85 years of age is projected to rise by nearly 75% by 2025.1 Under-diagnosis and under-treatment contribute to the growing burden of human misery and healthcare costs. We need to know whether there are effective strategies to stop people with early disease progressing, and if so, how to detect the disease early.

[学科分类] 卫生学