[A survey of the perception of COPD by physicians (I)]

Observing the great importance of COPD nowadays, the authors aimed to check the doctors' opinions concerning this matter. 300 questionnaires including 53 questions were mailed to doctors in the whole country. 103 filled-in questionnaires (34.34%) were recovered from 36 pulmonologists (PNF), 24 internal medicine specialists (Int) and 43 general practitioners (Gen). One could sometimes note important differences between the answers depending upon the specialty. Thus, the quality of the COPD assistance is considered unsatisfactory by many PNF. All doctors consider COPD as a concerning problem. The diagnosis is always established using clinical criteria (cough, dyspnea). There are differences between the doctors in using the X-ray and the lung function tests as diagnosis criteria, due to accessibility to these tests, but also to the interpretation. COPD may often be mixed up with other obstructive diseases, especially asthma, and many doctors include also the obstructive post-TB syndromes in COPD. All the doctors, no matter the specialty, consider themselves capable of diagnosis COPD. Despite the scarce participation to the questionnaire (due to lack of courage or of interest), the questionnaire can make up an image of the concern of the Romanian doctors for the COPD medical assistance, making also the consequences of the limited access to the newest informations.