Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, 960-1295, Japan.
Department of Respiratory Medicine, Nara Medical University School of Medicine, Nara, 634-8521, Japan.
Respir Investig. 2021 Jul;59(4):385-388. doi: 10.1016/j.resinv.2021.03.004. Epub 2021 Apr 6.
The Japanese Respiratory Society (JRS) has recommended spirometry for the diagnosis of respiratory diseases. It is indispensable for the confirmation of airflow obstruction by spirometry in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) diagnosis. However, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has made it difficult for many clinics to perform spirometry as it may lead to possible aerosol infections. Thus, the diagnosis of COPD, especially in the early stage, has become difficult. To overcome this situation, JRS issued a "Flowchart of Working Diagnosis and Management of COPD during the COVID-19 Pandemic". This flowchart may help physicians provisionally diagnose COPD patients without performing spirometry, offering them appropriate intervention even in epidemic and pandemic situations.
日本呼吸学会（JRS）推荐使用肺活量计进行呼吸疾病的诊断。它对于慢性阻塞性肺疾病（COPD）诊断中肺活量计确认气流阻塞是不可或缺的。然而，2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行使得许多诊所难以进行肺活量计检查，因为这可能导致气溶胶感染的风险。因此，COPD 的诊断，特别是在早期阶段，变得更加困难。为了克服这种情况，JRS 发布了一份“COVID-19 大流行期间 COPD 的工作诊断和管理流程图”。该流程图可能有助于医生在不进行肺活量计检查的情况下对 COPD 患者进行临时诊断，即使在流行和大流行期间，也能为他们提供适当的干预措施。
