Volume 1, Issue 7

COPD in Primary Care: Spirometry, Symptoms, and Diagnostic Criteria

In this issue:

The initial challenge for the primary care clinician managing potential COPD is making an accurate differential diagnosis. What role does spirometry play in defining COPD? Should FEV1 be the most critical measurement of airway obstruction? How important is the FEV1/FVC ratio?

In this issue, Dr. Emily Brigham from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine analyzes the current research answering these important questions can determine COPD diagnosis, management, and prognostication.

Learning objectives:

  • Discuss the steps necessary to identify and diagnose COPD in the primary care setting.
  • Explain the strengths and weaknesses of varying criteria to identify airflow obstruction in COPD. 
  • Describe the role of spirometry and lung function in COPD prognostication and management. 

Author:

Emily Brigham, MD, MHS
Emily Brigham, MD, MHS

Assistant Professor of Medicine

Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

Baltimore, Maryland

Program Directors:

Joyce King, MD

Assistant Professor
Georgetown University School of Medicine
Director, Inpatient Medicine
Family Medicine Residency Program
Medstar Franklin Square Hospital
Baltimore, MD

Glenn Treisman, MD, PhD

Eugene Meyer III Professor of Psychiatry and Medicine
Director, AIDS Psychiatry Services
Co-Director, Chronic Pain Treatment Program
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Baltimore, MD

Length of activity:

1.0 hour Physicians
1.0 contact hour Nurses

Launch date: November 30, 2019
Expiration date: November 29, 2021