Does a chest x-ray diagnose chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)?

This is an automatically translated article.

The article is expertly consulted by Master, Doctor Nguyen Hong Hai - Doctor of Radiology - Department of Diagnostic Imaging and Nuclear Medicine - Vinmec Times City International General Hospital.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a respiratory disease that can be diagnosed through a chest X-ray. However, this diagnostic technique has many limitations and needs to be combined with other diagnostic methods such as CT scan, COPD diagnosis....

1. What is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease?

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is common in men over 40 years of age. The cause of the disease is due to the process of regular exposure to dust, tobacco smoke, pipe tobacco,..
The disease causes obstruction of the exhaled air flow with no possibility of complete recovery, obstruction of ventilation. This usually progresses slowly and is associated with an abnormal inflammatory response of the lungs or alveoli.
People with COPD often have symptoms such as:
Cough with thick sputum, dry cough: This symptom usually appears in the morning. Shortness of breath: This is a common symptom in respiratory diseases. The patient may have difficulty breathing when doing heavy work, then it will get worse over time such as panting, wheezing. When the disease is in a severe stage, the patient has an increased breathing rate, exhaling must purse the lips, contract the respiratory muscles. The disease is completely preventable and treatable if diagnosed early.

2. Does a chest x-ray diagnose chronic obstructive pulmonary disease?

Chest X-ray is a clinical diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. This technique uses X-rays to help doctors initially diagnose the condition. However, imaging findings of COPD on chest radiographs can be confusing to inexperienced doctors with other respiratory diseases.
Therefore, besides chest X-ray, the doctor will perform some other tests such as: CT scan, diagnosis of COPD....

3. X-ray procedure to diagnose COPD

Step 1: Preparation
Before ordering an X-ray to diagnose chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the doctor will examine and ask about the patient's symptoms, such as:
Condition, frequency of coughing, wheezing The level of mucus secretion, sputum more or less. Having trouble breathing, chest tightness? The patient was instructed to change into a hospital gown and remove the contrast medium from the survey area.
Step 2: Take a picture
The patient takes a chest X-ray in a standing position. In case of suspected fluid in the lungs, the doctor will ask the radiologist to lie on his side for further investigation.
Step 3: Read the results and diagnose the condition.
Based on chest X-ray film, the doctor will initially assess the morphology and internal structure of the patient's body. Specifically:
If the chest X-ray shows excessive lung expansion, it is a sign of pulmonary congestion, leading to overinflated lungs. This condition makes it impossible for the person to take in as much air with each breath leading to symptoms of shortness of breath.
If the diaphragm is flat (Flat Diaphragm ) shows structural changes in the lung or surrounding tissue eg the diaphragm may be flattened.
Airway changes are an early sign of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Air bubbles on x-ray are formed due to lung tissue damage resulting from emphysema. These air sacs occupy most of the space in the lungs, causing lung function to be affected. The patient may be indicated for surgery to remove the air sacs.
Narrow heart shadow shows the heart is compressed by the inflated lung.

4. Other diagnostic tests

Computed tomography
CT scan technique produces a higher resolution 3-D image than the 2-D flat image of an X-ray. This results in a more accurate diagnosis. Usually, after a chest X-ray, the doctor will order a computed tomography scan to get a more detailed picture for the diagnosis.
Diagnosis of COPD
Patients with suspected chronic obstructive pulmonary disease will need to synthesize many test results from which to clearly see the signs of lung damage, the stage of the disease.
After X-ray and CT scan, the patient continues to perform some other tests.
Vinmec International General Hospital is a high-quality medical facility in Vietnam with a team of highly qualified medical professionals, well-trained, domestic and foreign, and experienced.
A system of modern and advanced medical equipment, possessing many of the best machines in the world, helping to detect many difficult and dangerous diseases in a short time, supporting the diagnosis and treatment of doctors the most effective. The hospital space is designed according to 5-star hotel standards, giving patients comfort, friendliness and peace of mind.

Please dial HOTLINE for more information or register for an appointment HERE. Download MyVinmec app to make appointments faster and to manage your bookings easily.