PG18 Early detection of COPD: benefits and problems

Postgraduate Course
Chairs: J. Garcia Aymerich (Barcelona, Spain), B. Stallberg (Uppsala, Sweden)
Aims: Under-diagnosis of COPD is a known problem, as only one out of three or four individuals with COPD have been diagnosed by the healthcare system in Europe. The course may contribute to detection of previously undiagnosed subjects with COPD. This is in many ways beneficial, as it increases the possibility of early intervention in smokers with mild COPD. There are, however, also problems both for the individuals who have so far regarded themselves as healthy, but are now labelled as having a disease, and for the healthcare system, which will have to handle a fairly large number of new patients after a screening event. The purpose of this course is to discuss the benefits and problems with spirometric screening using experiences from both screening events and population studies.

HERMES syllabus links: B.1.4 COPD, B.1.3 Chronic bronchitis, B.6.1 Occupational asthma

Type of course: Case and problem based

The impact of undiagnosed COPD in society J. Soriano (Bunyola, Spain)
How to manage COPD cases identified by population studies C. Janson (Uppsala, Sweden)
COPD management in primary care: what are the challenges? D. Price (Cawston, United Kingdom)
Smoking characteristics and smoking behaviour in newly diagnosed COPD patients C. Pisinger (Glostrup, Denmark)