Letter to the Editor, International Journal of COPD [Letter]

• Main Authors: Miller M, Cooper BG, Stanojevic S
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dove Medical Press 2020-09-01
• Series: International Journal of COPD
• Subjects: spirometry; interpretation; copd
• Online Access: https://www.dovepress.com/letter-to-the-editor-international-journal-of-copd-letter-peer-reviewed-article-COPD
• ISSN: 1178-2005

Martin Miller,1 Brendan G Cooper,2 Sanja Stanojevic3 1Institute of Applied Health Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK; 2Lung Function and Sleep, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, UK; 3Community Health and Epidemiology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, CanadaCorrespondence: Brendan G CooperLung Function and Sleep, Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, Mindelsohn Way, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2GW, UKTel [phone]Email [e-mail]   We read the paper by Llordés et al1 with some interest. The results from this small study are interesting but the analysis and conclusion seem to be at odds with the data. The authors consider a COPD diagnosis by both lower limit of normal (LLN) and the fixed ratio (FR), that is FEV1/FVC<0.7, as concordant (LLN+FR+) and subjects who are FR+LLN- as discordant. Their data show that the discordant group have lower CAT score and lower BODE index suggesting that this group likely has other co-morbidities. As expected, the discordant group is older, more maledominated2 and has fewer hospital admissions. Furthermore, the discordant group has a better overall survival and less respiratory mortality which highlights that the discordant group is quite dissimilar to the concordant group. It is not clear how these data clearly demonstrate that using the FR in the diagnosis COPD is superior to LLN.    View the original paper by Llordés and colleagues