Is Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Detectable on X-Rays?

This is an automatically translated article.

This article is professionally consulted by Master, Resident Doctor Tran Duc Tuan - Department of Diagnostic Imaging - Vinmec Central Park International General Hospital. The doctor has many years of experience in the field of imaging and interventional internal and external blood vessels.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the third leading cause of death in the world after cancer and cardiovascular disease. The disease is common in the elderly, seriously affecting health and requiring lifelong treatment. Chest X-ray is an indispensable technique in the diagnosis of respiratory diseases, so is X-ray valuable in this disease?

1. What is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease?

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a condition in which severely impaired respiratory function results in chronic respiratory symptoms and ventilation limitation due to airway or alveolar abnormalities caused by exposure. with significant amounts of particles and gases that are toxic and can lead to respiratory failure. However, because the disease usually progresses slowly, if diagnosed early, it can bring effective treatment and avoid dangerous complications.
Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease may have early early signs such as: coughing much, cough with phlegm, shortness of breath, shortness of breath, chest tightness. When these signs are present, patients will usually be ordered to have a chest X-ray to assess the stage of the disease and other tests to assess the progression of COPD.

2. Risk factors for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

The leading risk of COPD is smoking, in addition to some of the main risks such as:
Exposure to tobacco smoke Exposure to particulates Occupational, organic and inorganic dust Air pollution in homes from heating and cooking with biomass in poorly ventilated environments Outdoor air pollution Infection.

3. Is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease detectable on x-rays?

X-ray is a fairly routine test, especially in respiratory diseases. Therefore, images of COPD on chest X-ray film can be confused with other lung diseases because the structure and morphology have many similarities. Some signs that can be observed on the film of people with COPD are:
Excessive stretching of the lungs: is a sign of the lungs being trapped by air leading to overinflating, causing damage to lung tissue and loss of elasticity as well as loss of elasticity and elasticity. Exhaust function after each breath. As a result, the patient cannot take in air with each breath, leading to shortness of breath
Flat diaphragm (flat diaphragm): this is also the result of excessive lung inflation. Perforation damages lung tissue, air sacs take up space causing limitations for lung function. Narrow heart shadow: can be seen as COPD progresses, causing the heart to become compressed because the lungs are inflated, causing a narrow or elongated heart. In fact, chest X-rays can help assess the progression of COPD without needing to invasive procedures, but the diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease should be based more on the physical symptoms that are:
Shortness of breath Chronic cough or sputum production and/or history of exposure to risk factors of illness such as smoke, raw materials or occupational fumes Recurrent respiratory tract infections Chest pain, tightness Wheezing, persistent fatigue Low-grade fever and chills cold.

Besides chest X-ray, it is possible to diagnose chronic obstructive pulmonary disease early based on spirometry, which is also the diagnostic criterion of the disease.
Vinmec International General Hospital is the address for examination, prevention and treatment of many respiratory diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The examination, diagnosis and treatment of diseases are carried out by qualified and well-trained doctors along with modern medical equipment, which will bring optimal treatment results to patients.
In order to improve service quality as well as serve the requirements of comprehensive health care, Vinmec now also deploys convenient medical services such as a lung cancer screening package, which is especially useful for those patients who regularly smoke and are exposed to tobacco or have a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and many other respiratory diseases.

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