1. Understanding COPD Slideshow
2. COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) Quiz
3. Energy Foods for COPD Slideshow Pictures

Medical Author:

George Schiffman, MD, FCCP

George Schiffman, MD, FCCP

Dr. Schiffman received his B.S. degree with High Honors in biology from Hobart College in 1976. He then moved to Chicago where he studied biochemistry at the University of Illinois, Chicago Circle. He attended Rush Medical College where he received his M.D. degree in 1982 and was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society. He completed his Internal Medicine internship and residency at the University of California, Irvine.

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Medical Editor:

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.

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A health care professional will perform various tests to determine if a person has COPD, and determine the best treatment for the patient.

• The patient will be asked about symptoms and whether the patient has smoked, currently smoke, or are exposed to second-hand smoke or air pollutants.
• The patient will undergo a physical examination. Although a physical evaluation is often not sensitive enough to detect mild-to-moderate COPD, the physical signs are specific and sensitive enough to detect severe COPD. Patients with severe COPD experience rapid breathing (called tachypnea) and respiratory distress (difficulty breathing) with simple activities.
• A sample of the patient's sputum may be collected and sent to a laboratory for analysis.
• A chest X-ray or a high-resolution computerized tomography scan (an HRCT scan) may be taken. An HRCT scan is often taken because it provides more detail than a chest X-ray. It is very useful in detecting emphysema.
• A pulmonary function test should be used because it detects and assesses the severity of lung disease. This test is also helpful in following the progress of lung disease. Using a device called a spirometer, a pulmonary function test can determine how well the lungs are functioning by measuring how much air the patient can breathe in, and how much and how fast the patient can breathe out.
• An arterial blood gas test may be performed. This test measures how well the lungs are doing in transferring oxygen into the blood and in removing carbon dioxide from it.
• A pulse oximeter, which is attached to the finger, is sometimes used to measure the percentage of oxygen saturation in the blood.

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