What is a COPD-Like Spirometry Test Result in Resource Constrained Settings?

Abstract

The diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a global health problem, is challenging in resource-constrained settings. Spirometry with an obstructive pattern after the administration of bronchodilators is required for the diagnosis of COPD. Existing COPD treatment guidelines, largely derived from studies performed in populations of cigarette-smokers, recommend pharmacologic interventions with a tendency to include new—and expensive—drugs as first line agents. As the different factors that cause nonsmokers to develop COPD lead to different phenotypes of disease, COPD severity and treatment efficacy cannot be extrapolated to be the same as in the population of smokers. In so doing, current global initiatives may carry risks when trying to over simplify diagnostic approaches and push for standardization of treatment algorithms that are not context-specific. Future work to mitigate the global burden of COPD needs to address the need for new epidemiological data, especially in areas where tobacco use is less prevalent and environmental factors such as domestic air pollution is common.

Keywords:

• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
• spirometry test
• low and middle-income settings

Declaration of interests

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Funding

JJM and JRH were funded by the Medical Research Council (MR/P008984/1) as part of the Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases (GACD) network. JJM acknowledges receiving additional support from the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research (HQHSR1206660), the Bernard Lown Scholars in Cardiovascular Health Program at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (BLSCHP-1902), FONDECYT via CIENCIACTIVA/CONCYTEC, British Council, British Embassy and the Newton-Paulet Fund (223-2018, 224-2018), DFID/MRC/Wellcome Global Health Trials (MR/M007405/1), Fogarty International Center (R21TW009982, D71TW010877), Grand Challenges Canada (0335-04), International Development Research Center Canada (106887, 108167), Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI CRN3036), Medical Research Council (MR/P008984/1, MR/P024408/1, MR/P02386X/1), National Cancer Institute (1P20CA217231), National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (HHSN268200900033C, 5U01HL114180, 1UM1HL134590), National Institute of Mental Health (1U19MH098780), Swiss National Science Foundation (40P740-160366), Wellcome Trust (074833/Z/04/Z, 093541/Z/10/Z, 107435/Z/15/Z, 103994/Z/14/Z, 205177/Z/16/Z, 214185/Z/18/Z) and the World Diabetes Foundation (WDF15-1224).