Sino-Singapore Health丨Experts: It is particularly important for people at high risk of COPD to take the initiative to do pulmonary function tests after the age of 40

　　China News Service, Shanghai, February 3 (Reporter Chen Jing) At present, COPD has become another important cause of disability and death after ischemic heart disease and stroke. There are a large number of patients with COPD in China, but the awareness rate of the disease among the population still needs to be improved.

　　Investigating the reason, Chen Xin, deputy leader of the full-cycle geriatric rehabilitation group of the Geriatric Rehabilitation Professional Committee of the Chinese Association of Rehabilitation Medicine, said on the 3rd that on the one hand, the early symptoms of COPD are not obvious, and on the other hand, pulmonary function tests are not popular enough.

　　COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, is a lung disease that can cause difficulty breathing. Chen Xin said that the early symptoms of COPD are similar to chronic bronchitis, with patients coughing and sputum. As the disease progresses, dyspnea will progressively worsen to varying degrees. First, there will be shortness of breath after exercise and activity; then dyspnea will appear during calmness; in the advanced stage, patients may experience hypoxia after even a little movement.

　　As a clinical expert, Chen Xin once treated a patient who was over sixty years old. This patient has been smoking for more than 20 years. He usually coughs and expectorates, but never takes it to heart until one day when he is seriously out of breath while chasing a bus, he comes to the hospital for examination. It is reported that after a pulmonary function test, the patient's lung function was only 30%.

　　“It feels like being suffocated and half-buried in the earth”, “Being weighed down by a heavy weight and being unable to breathe”, “Drowning and being unable to breathe”, “Sense of imminent death”, “Having a plastic bag over my head makes me suffocate”… these are all slow obstructions. Common feelings experienced by patients with acute exacerbations of lung disease. "The primary impact of acute exacerbation on patients is damage to lung function. Every time there is an acute exacerbation, the patient's lung function drops to a new level." Chen Xin said that in clinical practice, many COPD patients will have emotional problems, and ultimately Prominent symptoms are depression and anxiety. "For patients, COPD suffers from repeated acute exacerbations, causing asthma, dyspnea and other near-death feelings. Therefore, compared with other chronic diseases, COPD patients are often in panic." Chen Xin explained.

　　In fact, patients’ families are also affected by anxiety and depression. Chen Xin described: “Whether they are outpatient visits, medicines or hospitalization, patients with COPD need to be accompanied and cared for by their family members. When patients with acute exacerbation are sent to the hospital, they are often accompanied by two or more family members, one One pushes the wheelchair and the other holds the oxygen cylinder.”

　　The expert said that people who smoke for a long time and are often exposed to smoke and dust are all high-risk groups for COPD. It is especially important for this group to take the initiative to do pulmonary function tests after the age of 40.

　　With the development of COPD treatment, “the emergence of innovative drugs and new therapies can not only relieve patients’ dyspnea symptoms, improve quality of life, reduce acute exacerbations, but even reduce all-cause mortality, which is a great progress. "Chen Xin said that although inhaled glucocorticoid (ICS) treatment can reduce the risk of acute exacerbation of COPD, 30%-40% of COPD patients still develop moderate symptoms after receiving triple therapy. or severe acute exacerbation.

　　During the interview, the reporter learned that research shows that patients with type 2 inflammatory COPD have more severe emphysema and a higher frequency of acute exacerbations. It is reported that biological agents targeting type 2 inflammation are currently under development, which is expected to achieve a new breakthrough in biological agents in the field of COPD in the past 10 years and will improve the quality of life of COPD patients. "Nowadays, new treatment methods have emerged for various chronic diseases and have achieved very good results. We expect that the efficacy of COPD will be greatly improved." Chen Xin said. (over)