Spirometric testing on World COPD Day

Spirometric testing on World COPD Day

BACKGROUND To determine the importance of spirometric testing for early detection of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). METHODS Spirometric testing has been performed annually on World COPD Day in Sezana from 2003. Sezana is in a semiurban region of Slovenia, with 12,000 inhabitants. The investigation was performed between January 2003 and December 2008. In total, 770 persons were ...

Spirometric testing: how much is enough?

The author comments on the report by Dr. Benjamin Chan and associates on spirometry utilization rates in Ontario (see pages 169 to 176 of this issue). Their findings indicate that the overall utilization of spirometry in the province is not unreasonably high and may in fact be too low in certain regions and patient groups. The author argues, however, that to a large extent the wrong type of spi...

Spirometric definition of COPD: exercise in futility or factual debate?

The current international guidelines for the diagnosis and management of COPD recognise spirometry as a major criterion to confirm a clinical diagnosis of COPD. The specific role of spirometry for the diagnosis of COPD is to identify the presence if airflow obstruction, which is the essential requirement for the definition of the disease. Although a reduction of the ratio of forced expiratory v...

World Cancer Day 2011: a world without cancer one day?

World Health Day 1995 focuses on immunization.