Skip to main content
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2024 Jul 21.
Published in final edited form as: Lancet. 2022 Sep 5;400(10356):921–972. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(22)01273-9

Figure 2: The importance of early diagnosis to eliminate COPD.

Figure 2:

(A) Currently, COPD is diagnosed at a stage when pathological changes are irreversible. This late diagnosis is due to a combination of factors, including the lack of predictive biomarkers, under-recognised clinical symptoms, a long period of disease activity associated with no or minimal symptoms, and reliance on spirometry, an insensitive diagnostic tool. (B) Implementation of a more inclusive diagnosis of COPD allows for the detection of early disease before irreversible pathological changes have occurred and could lead to disease interception. COPD=chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. RCT=randomised controlled trial.