Fears Over Asthma Misdiagnosis Lead to Charity Calls for Mass Retesting

The British Lung Foundation is calling for everyone over 35 with Asthma or the progressive illness Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) to be retested following evidence of confusion over diagnosis and treatment of the two respiratory diseases.

A survey of 776 GPs from all over the UK carried out for the charity by Doctors.net.uk shows that most have difficulty differentiating between Asthma or COPD, causing misdiagnosis and distress amongst patients.

The survey showed that:

• Four fifths of GPs (80%) find differentiating between the Asthma and COPD quite or very challenging

• 1 in 10 (10%) don’t have appropriately trained staff to carry out or interpret spirometry testing

• Less than a quarter (24%) are trained to carry out spirometry testing themselves

• More than a quarter (26%) do not have the training to interpret spirometry testing themselves

• Just under a fifth (19%) say that the quality of COPD diagnosis has not changed under the current GP contract

• More than a quarter (27%) say the quality of COPD care has not changed under the current GP contract

• Nearly a half (48%) say the GP contract should reward GPs for clarifying whether a patient has Asthma or COPD

A separate patient survey carried out by the charity showed that nearly two fifths (39%) had been told they had both Asthma and COPD, a far higher figure than should be the case. The BLF says it is vital that a diagnosis of COPD or Asthma is clarified and that the GP contract should reward this next year.

“It can be difficult to differentiate between an Asthma and COPD diagnosis but the long term aims of Asthma and COPD treatment are different and it is vital that people with either disease have an accurate diagnosis,” says BLF spokesperson, Dr Keith Prowse.

“In Asthma the aim is to restore full lung function and if it is not treated properly the inflammation can cause scarring in the lungs and permanent damage. In COPD the management of the disease is quite complex and treatments such as pulmonary rehabilitation are crucial”.

“Patients get understandably distressed and angry when they realise they have been misdiagnosed and not given the most appropriate treatment,” says Dame Helena Shovelton. “We’re calling for everyone over 35 with an Asthma or COPD diagnosis to be retested and for this to be made part of the GP contract next year.”

 

Press Release Supplied With the Kind Permission of Katherine Huntly of The British Lung Foundation

 

Page created: 26 November 2008