COPD-Diagnosis

Diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease based on NICE Draft for Consultation July 2018. NICE suggests that diagnosis is suspected on the basis of symptoms and signs and is supported by Spirometry.Person over 35 who is a current or an ex smoker and has one or more of-exertional breathlessness chronic cough regular sputum frequent winter bronchitis wheeze .Also check for these to r/o other causes of breathlessness - particularly CVD.weight loss reduced exercise tolerance waking at night with breathlessness ankle swelling fatigue occupational hazards chest pain haemoptysis.Assess breathlessness - NICE recommends using the Medical Research Council ( MRC ) dyspnoe scale according to level of exertion required to elicit it as one of the primary symptoms of COPD is breathlessness.

Spirometry-Perform on diagnosis or to reconsider diagnosis for people who show and exceptionally good response.Change for 2018 is the indication for spirometry to monitor disease progression.Measure post-bronchidilator to confirm diagnosis Older people with FEv1 / FVC below 0.7 but no typical symptoms of COPD- consider an alternative diagnosis - investigate further Younger people who have symptoms of COPD with FEV1 / FVC ratio above 0.7 - consider COPD diagnosisNICE by stating above is advising not to rely solely on spirometry...