Current Progress of COPD Early Detection: Key Points and Novel Strategies

Abstract

Ching-Hsiung Lin,1– 4,* Shih-Lung Cheng,5,6 Chiung-Zuei Chen,7 Chia-Hung Chen,8 Sheng-Hao Lin,1 Hao-Chien Wang9,* 1Division of Chest Medicine, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua, 500, Taiwan; 2Institute of Genomics and Bioinformatics, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, 402, Taiwan; 3Ph.D. Program in Translational Medicine, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan; 4Department of Recreation and Holistic Wellness, MingDao University, Changhua, Taiwan; 5Department of Internal Medicine, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, Taipei, 220, Taiwan; 6Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Yuan Ze University, Taoyuan, 320, Taiwan; 7Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; 8Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, 404, Taiwan; 9Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, 100, Taiwan*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Hao-Chien Wang, Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, 100, Taiwan, Tel + 886 2 2322-0322, Fax + 886 2 2322-0322, Email [email protected] Ching-Hsiung Lin, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Chest Medicine, Changhua Christian Hospital, 135 Nanhsiao Street, Changhua, 50006, Taiwan, Tel [phone], Fax [phone], Email [email protected]: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, with approximately 70% to 80% of adults with COPD being undiagnosed. Patients with undiagnosed COPD are at increased risk of poor outcomes and a worsened quality of life, making early detection a crucial strategy to mitigate the impact of COPD and reduce the burden on healthcare systems. In the past decade, increased interest has been focused on the development of effective strategies and instrument for COPD early detection. However, identifying undiagnosed cases of COPD is still challenging. Both screening and case-finding approaches have been adopted to identify undiagnosed COPD, with case-finding being recommended by the 2023 Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) guideline and the updated United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPTF) recommendation. Nonetheless, the approaches, criteria, and instruments used for early detection of COPD are varied. However, advances in the taxonomy and risk factors of COPD are continuously being investigated. It is important to continuously assess the current state of knowledge on COPD early detection, given the challenges associated with identifying undiagnosed COPD. This review aims to highlight recent advances in early detection of COPD. To discuss the current challenge and opportunity in COPD early detection, providing an overview of existing literature on COPD case-finding strategies, including the approaches, criteria for subjects, and instruments. The review also summarizes the current progress in COPD case-findings and proposes a COPD case-finding flowchart as an efficient method for identifying at risk COPD patients.Keywords: COPD, undiagnosed, at-risk, case-finding, early detection

Keywords

• copd
• undiagnosed
• at-risk
• case-finding
• early detection