Diagnosis and Treatment of COPD

In patients presenting to our hospital with symptoms such as chronic cough, phlegm and shortness of breath due to smoking, exposure to harmful gases and particles or genetic risk factors, standard lung radiography and respiratory function tests should be conducted. In standard lung radiography, COPD symptoms can be detected and other lung diseases such as lung cancer, bronchiectasis that may lead to above complaints can also be diagnosed. Respiratory function tests, on the other hand, confirm the diagnosis of COPD objectively and, if present, determine the severity of the disease. Beside these examinations, auxiliary diagnosis methods such as ECG and complete blood count are applied.

These drugs can be used depending on the disease severity when necessary, e.g. in the case of shortness of breath during effort, or a continuous and regular treatment diagram recommended by the doctor can be applied. Non-drug treatment modalities in COPD include long-term oxygen treatment and pulmonary rehabilitation programs. Long-term or continuous oxygen treatment is recommended in patients whose blood oxygen partial pressure is below a certain value due to the disease. It should not be forgotten that unconscious use of oxygen may be harmful in COPD patients. Therefore, the necessity of oxygen treatment should definitely be decided by the doctor.