Key tests for COPD vastly underutilized.

• Position: Pulmonary Disease - Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Spirometry testing is a widely accepted and encouraged diagnostic method for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but research shows that it is not used nearly enough. "Without proper testing, both underdiagnosis and misdiagnosis may occur, which can lead to improper therapies being prescribed," cautions MeiLan Han of the University of Michigan's Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Ann Arbor.

"This study shows that we have a lot of work ahead of us in terms of raising awareness among both patients and physicians.

"In order to distinguish COPD from other diseases, such as asthma, spirometry must be measured both before and after administration of medication that dilates the airways. As such, if COPD is suspected, initial spirometric testing should include bronchodilator testing, too, in order for that patient to receive a truly diagnostic test."

In addition, the study contradicts previous findings in which more than 70% of physicians reported using spirometry for establishing a COPD diagnosis. Given the contrast, Han suggests a possible difference between what physicians say and what they actually do. Also of particular concern is that, according to this study, spirometry testing in those patients who were 75 years and older was performed less frequently, with...