Patients with COPD are missing out on treatment
Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) may be missing out on appropriate treatment, according to a primary care study presented at the European
Respiratory Society meeting in Glasgow this week.
The study recruited 597 patients aged 40 or older with prior diagnoses
or taking medicines consistent with COPD though not previously diagnosed
with this condition.
David Price from Aberdeen University said that 40 per cent of these patients
were found to have COPD. Half had been diagnosed with asthma only and
10 per cent had no prior diagnosis of obstructive lung disease. “The
level of misdiagnosis and underdiagnosis seen in this study is concerning,” he
remarked.“It is time for primary care professionals to rethink
their approach to COPD to ensure patients receive an early, correct diagnosis
and appropriate effective treatment,” he stated. The study was
supported by Boehringer Ingelheim and Pfizer.
The ERS conference also heard that more than half of COPD patients were
failing
to notify their GPs of an exacerbation. Investigator John O’Reilly,
University Hospital, Aintree, said: “By not reporting their exacerbations,
COPD patients are not receiving treatment needed to manage their condition
and help prevent further episodes.” |
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