UNDATED (Cleveland Clinic) -- A new study finds that CT scans may be additional tool in detecting chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD.
COPD is a common lung disease that can be difficult to diagnose. It's typically detected by a breathing test, but there may be another way it can be exposed.
A new Dutch study finds CT scans for lung cancer screening may be beneficial in detecting COPD, too. Cleveland Clinic's physician Dr. Peter Mazzone says, "The study showed that there were a sizable portion of people who did have COPD, which makes sense. They're smokers, at risk for lung cancer, but that had not been known about before that scan."
Researchers at the University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands, looked at more than a thousand people with respiratory problems.
Results show among men who were current or former heavy smokers, undergoing lung cancer screening with ct scanning identified a substantial proportion who had COPD.
Researchers say it may make sense to consider adding CT scans for additional evaluation of COPD because this would improve diagnostic accuracy.
Dr. Peter Mazzone says diagnosing COPD early is critical, no matter how it's detected. But the best outcome will depend a lot on the patient. He says, "What the hope would be from gaining that knowledge is can we intervene? Can we stop someone from smoking? Can the knowledge of early COPD scare someone enough to keep them away from the cigarettes."