Predictors of accuracy of diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in general practice.

The authors discuss their study of the predictors of accuracy of clinical diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in general practice in Sydney, New South Wales. They recruited 56 general practitioners from 44 practices who were asked to complete a questionnaire that covered characteristics of themselves and their practices associated with agreement between clinical and spirometric diagnoses. They found that age of older patients was related to correct diagnosis.