Do symptom-based questions help screen COPD among Chinese populations?

Area of Science:

• Pulmonary Medicine
• Epidemiology
• Diagnostic Accuracy

Background:

• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) diagnosis relies on spirometry, which is challenging in resource-limited environments.
• Accurate and accessible screening tools are crucial for early COPD detection and management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of symptom-based questionnaires for screening COPD in Chinese adults.
• To develop and validate an improved questionnaire for COPD screening.

Main Methods:

• Recruited 3969 adult subjects from a university hospital in China.
• Administered a traditional eight-item questionnaire and a revised eleven-item symptom-based questionnaire.
• Confirmed COPD diagnosis using spirometry (FEV1/FVC) and calculated diagnostic accuracy metrics (AUC, sensitivity, specificity).

Main Results:

• The traditional IPAG questionnaire had an AUC of 0.80 (sensitivity 67.8%, specificity 76.8%).
• The revised eleven-item questionnaire demonstrated significantly improved diagnostic accuracy with an AUC of 0.85 (sensitivity 82.5%, specificity 72.9%).

Conclusions:

• A revised eleven-item symptom-based questionnaire shows high diagnostic accuracy for screening individuals with a high likelihood of COPD in Chinese populations.
• This tool has potential for use in primary care settings, though further validation is recommended.