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

摘要

The current international guidelines for the diagnosis and management of COPD recognise spirometry as a major criterion to confirm a clinical diagnosis of COPD.~(1-3) 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 volume in one second (FEV_1) to forced vital capacity (FVC) has been consistently adopted as an unquestionable sign of airflow obstruction, no consensus has been achieved regarding the cut-off to separate healthy from obstructed subjects.