COPD diagnosis must improve, says report by Royal College of Physicians

Accurate diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) must improve to avoid expensive, unsafe, and ineffective treatments being prescribed to people who do not have the condition, a report from the Royal College of Physicians has found.1

The report, COPD in England—Finding the Measure of Success, also suggests that some of the most clinically useful and cost effective treatments for COPD, such as nicotine replacement therapy, targeted drug treatment, and pulmonary rehabilitation, are underused.

Some 1.2 million people in the United Kingdom have had COPD diagnosed, and 30 000 people die of the disease each year. Previous national …