Detection and prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in a cardiovascular clinic: Evaluation using a hand held FEV1/FEV6 meter and questionnaire

Background and objective: COPD is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, and its prevalence continues to increase. Although spirometry is indispensable for the diagnosis of COPD, other simple and reliable tools are necessary for screening of COPD because spirometry is not widely available. This study investigated the usefulness of a combination of an electronic FEV1/FEV6 meter (PiKo-6) with a COPD questionnaire as a screening method in patients with cardiovascular diseases. Methods: The PiKo-6 and the COPD questionnaire of the International Primary Care Airways Group were used to screen patients attending a cardiovascular outpatient clinic. Patients with FEV1/FEV6