Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a lung disease characterised by airflow limitation that is not fully reversible. It is considered to be widely underdiagnosed, with an estimated 2 million undiagnosed patients in the United Kingdom. In June 2010 the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published guidelines regarding the primary and secondary care management of COPD in adults. This guideline detailed the steps that are needed to make a diagnosis of COPD and to distinguish it from its differential diagnoses, such as asthma. It is these guidelines that will form the basis of this article.
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