Programme detects high rates of undiagnosed COPD

Seven out of ten participants in a COPD screening programme were diagnosed with COPD that was not picked up by a previous assessment under the Lung Health Check scheme.

Initial findings of the FRONTIER* programme, presented at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Congress 2024, showed that 136 (68%) of 201 individuals seen through the programme were diagnosed with COPD.

COPD is severely under-diagnosed with many patients only being diagnosed upon acute admission in emergency care settings. An estimated two million people have undiagnosed COPD in the UK. More than half of those who have a moderate form of the disease go undiagnosed, but one in five of those who are undiagnosed have severe or very severe forms of the disease.

Lung Health Checks, including spirometry for COPD diagnosis, can be an effective way of screening for lung diseases; however, spirometry stopped during the COVID-19 pandemic and has not been reintroduced in many areas.

From September 2023, continuing until September 2025, FRONTIER aims to invite approximately 1,000 previous Lung Health Check participants for COPD testing.

These initial results for the first 201 participants showed that of those who received a new COPD diagnosis, 77% had moderate emphysema, 12% had mild, 7% had none and 4% had severe. The mean COPD assessment test (CAT) score was 16.7.

*FRONTIER is a collaborative project between Chiesi UK & Ireland and Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.