New Research Shows Many Patients with Persistent Cough and Sputum Actually had Airway Obstruction Consistent...( - More than one quarter (26%) of pri...)

- More than one quarter (26%) of primary care patients 40 years of age and older with a smoking history and symptoms of chronic bronchitis had airflow

obstruction consistent with a diagnosis of COPD - Percentages were greater with increasing patient age and smoking history

PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) today announced findings from a cross-sectional study which showed that 26 percent of primary care patients 40 years of age and older with a history of smoking and symptoms of chronic bronchitis actually had airway obstruction consistent with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) - yet were not diagnosed with the disease.

The data also show that as age and smoking history increased the percent of patients with COPD increased - roughly half (49%) of the patients over 60 years of age with more than a 20-pack year history of smoking had an FEV(1) (forced expiratory flow in one second)/FVC (forced vital capacity) ratio consistent with COPD; 40 percent of patients over 50 years of age who had more than a 30-pack year history of smoking also had FEV(1)/FVC consistent with COPD. For the group over 70 years of age with more than a 40-pack year history, the percent increased to 72.

Overall, only 4 percent of patients in this study had been diagnosed with COPD by their clinician. These data were presented in Philadelphia at CHEST 2008, the annual meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians.

"Understanding the patients who are at greatest risk for having undiagnosed COPD should help improve disease recognition, diagnosis and management," said Barbara Yawn, M.D., lead author and director of research at the Olmsted Medical Center, Rochester, MN. "Spirometry should be considered in anyone with symptoms and a 10 or greater pack-year smoking history - which is how we will improve recognition of COPD."

In the study, pre- and post-bronchodilatory spirometry was performed
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