Background Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a smoking related lung disease characterised by airflow obstruction on spirometry. COPD patients are prone to acute exacerbations, frequently leading to health care utilisation. There are over 7500 people in Hull with COPD and it is estimated over 6000 patients are living with the condition without a diagnosis. Early identification of COPD with targeted smoking cessation and early initiation of treatment has potential to improve outcomes. We describe the early Results of a COPD screening initiative in Hull.

Methods A collaborative screening program was developed involving the acute hospital trust, community services, clinical commissioning group and city council. The initiative was supported by British Lung Foundation, branded under their ‘Love Your Lungs’ campaign. Screening was undertaken over 4 days in public venues in areas with high smoking prevalence. Individuals completed symptom and lifestyle questionnaires and FEV-1/FEV-6 assessment. Symptomatic individuals with FEV-1 ≤80% predicted and/or FEV-1/FEV-6 ratio <0.73 were invited to attend a one-stop clinic where they underwent diagnostic spirometry and saw a respiratory physician and smoking cessation specialist.

Results 253 individuals were screened (41% male, 25% current smokers). 67/253 screened positive and 60 were given a one-stop clinic appointment. Individuals not offered appointments either declined or lived outside the area. 31/60 individuals attended their appointment, 6/60 are awaiting review and 23/60 either cancelled or did not attend (DNA). 17/31 clinic attenders were diagnosed with COPD and 13/31 received an alternative diagnosis in addition to or instead of COPD. 57/60 were discharged for on-going care under their GP and 3/60 remain under specialist follow-up. The characteristics of screen positive individuals are presented in Table 1.

Conclusions In this unselected screening program, the COPD diagnosis rate was 7% and would likely have been higher if all screen positive individuals had attended a one-stop clinic. This compares favourably with diagnosis rates in targeted COPD case finding trials reported previously. Engaging current smokers proved challenging with high DNA rates in this group. Further research is required to assess whether early COPD diagnosis through screening alters smoking behaviour or disease outcomes.