Thousands of patients with serious lung disease might have missed the chance for potentially life-saving early treatment because doctors failed to spot their symptoms, research shows.
The study of almost 39,000 men and women in the UK with chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) found that 85 per cent could have been diagnosed years earlier.
All these patients had visited a GP or hospital clinic at least once with lower respiratory symptoms up to five years before learning what was wrong with them.
Symptoms were missed in 58 per cent of patients between six and 10 years before diagnosis and 42 per cent between 11 and 15 years before diagnosis.
COPD, linked to smoking and air pollution and caused by inflammation in the airways, affects about three million people in the UK and is the nation's fifth-biggest killer disease.
Chronic bronchitis and emphysema are both common forms of the condition.
Each year, more than 30,000 Britons die directly or indirectly as a result of the disease, whose symptoms include chronic coughing and increasing shortness of breath.
Early diagnosis and treatment is regarded as vital to keep lung damage to a minimum and reduce the massive long-term cost of caring for patients.
Figures from the UK Department of Health show that earlier diagnosis and treatment of the disease could save the NHS more than STG1 billion ($A1.85 billion) over 10 years.
Lead researcher Dr Rupert Jones, from Plymouth University Peninsular School of Medicine and Dentistry, said the substantial numbers of patients misdiagnosed and under-diagnosed in the study was a cause for concern.
"It is important that COPD is diagnosed as early as possible so effective treatment can be used to try to reduce lung damage, improve quality of life and even life expectancy," Dr Jones said.
"We believe that the results of our study provide clear support to the argument for improved identification and diagnosis of COPD in general practice, with greater awareness so that early opportunities to diagnose - such as presentation with lower respiratory tract symptoms or related conditions - are seized and acted upon."
The study was based on anonymous patient records collected from GP surgeries and clinics throughout the UK and kept on databases for researchers to use.
Over 20 years, the number of patients given chest X-rays up to two years before a diagnosis of COPD increased significantly but only a third of these patients were also given spirometry or "puff" tests of lung function.
Dr Nick Hopkinson, medical adviser at the British Lung Foundation, said it's estimated there are around two million Britons living with undiagnosed COPD.
