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Abstract

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major health problem and the number of patients with the disease is increasing. Cigarette smoking is the most important cause of COPD. It significantly increases the progressive deterioration in lung functions. COPD is a preventable disease if it is detected earlier but it is usually diagnosed at a late stage.OBJECTIVEThe objective of this study was to determine the role of spirometry in the early detection of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in smokers.DESIGN AND SETTINGCross sectional study done at Institute of Chest Medicine, King Edward Medical University, Mayo Hospital, Lahore.MATERIAL AND METHODSOne hundred smokers who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were selected. Comprehensive smoking history was asked and the number of pack years were calculated. Spirometry of all the subjects was performed on spirometer  Spirolab II). Diagnosis of COPD was defined by airway obstruction measured as FEV1/FVC <0.70.RESULTSIn our study out of 100 smokers there were 78 who had history of cough, 56 had a history of sputum production, 34 had history of dyspnea and 18 had physical signs of airflow obstruction. On spirometry 38% smokers had diagnosis of COPD. Using the Global Initiative for Lung Disease (GOLD) criteria for severity, 18% had mild obstruction, 12% had moderate obstruction and 8% had severe obstruction. No smoker had very severe obstruction.CONCLUSIONSpirometry helps in the early detection of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in smokers and can uncover a significant number of persons with spirometric signs of airflow obstruction.