To describe symptoms and lung function in patients registered with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in primary care and to examine how spirometry findings fit with general practitioners' (GPs) diagnoses.
Patients aged =40 years with a diagnosis of asthma or COPD registered in the electronic medical record during the previous 5 years were recruited at seven GP offices in Norway in 2009-2010. Registered diagnosis, spirometry results, comorbidity, and reported symptoms were compared.
Among 376 patients, 62% were women. Based on Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Diseases criteria, a spirometry diagnosis of COPD could be made in 68.1% of the patients with a previous COPD diagnosis and in 17.1% of those diagnosed with asthma only (P
Notes
Cites: BMC Pulm Med. 2006;6 Suppl 1:S417140422
Cites: Eur Respir J. 2006 Nov;28(5):945-5216870668