Medical Informations

Medical Informative Booklets

Screening

Screening of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (Spirometry)

Screening of COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) or smoker’s lung

Screening and cancer preventive clinic – J. Bordet Institute

 

Do you know what the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is ?

This chronic pulmonary disease is very frequent, nevertheless, most people ignore they are struck down by the disease. In Belgium, more than 500 000 people are affected. COPD is a very progressive and irreversible disease.

The disease is characterized by a slower air flow, causing a feeling of breath shortness in activity and at rest. Another symptom is bronchial inflammation, provoking cough and sputum. Early detection reduces the impact of the disease and helps improve quality of life. Spirometry is the method used to detect and diagnose COPD.

 

What is spirometry ?

Spirometry is the very simple test measuring the amount of air you can blow out as long as you can. The spirometer is the device used to execute those measures. Most of them are portable, having the dimensions of a phone.

 

How does spirometry works ?

You will be said to sit down and to put on a nose clip and an air hose to breath. You will be asked to inhale as much air as possible, then exhale forcefully into the spirometer for four to five times.

Of course, the exam is painless and it’s not necessary to be fasting.

 

Risk factors for COPD

The main risk is active smoking. Other factors do also have harmful effects, such as passive smoking and exposure to professional or domestic harmful agents.

 

When should you have a spirometry ?

If you regularly cough or expectorate, if you suffer more shorts of breath than people of your age, if you smoke and are over 40, you are at risk to be affected by COPD.

We suggest you to fill in the undermentioned questionnaire. If you have at least three positive answers by five asked on the risk factors, you will be suggested to have a spirometry.

 

QUESTIONNAIRE :

1) do you regularly cough ?

2) do you regularly expectorate?

3) are you rapidly out of breath compared to people of your age ?

4) are you over 40 ?

5) do you smoke or did you smoke ?

 

Advice

Stop smoking ! It prevents the disease from progressing. If you are already affected by COPD, it’s the first measure you should take and it is the only one that could stop deteriorate the respiratory function in years.

An additional reason to stop smoking : if consuming cigarettes at the same rhythm, a smoker affected by CPOD is even more at risk to develop a lung cancer than someone without CPOD.

 

For more information : www.spirometrie.be
(Phone Screening - Institut Bordet : 02/541.30.50)

 

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Checking of this page : 01/2012