The Effectiveness and Harms of Screening for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to perform meta-analyses to update a previous systematic review (SR) conducted by the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) to evaluate the benefits and harms of screening for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in asymptomatic adults. METHODS: MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and regional databases were searched from their inception to January 2020. Studies for diagnostic accuracy, preventive services effect, treatment efficacy, and treatment harms were included. RESULTS: Eighteen studies were included, and twelve of these were newly added in this update. In meta-analyses, the pooled sensitivity and specificity for COPD diagnosis using spirometry were 73.4% and 89.0%, respectively. The relative effect of smoking cessation intervention with screening spirometry, presented as abstinence rate, was not statistically significant (risk ratio [RR], 1.21; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.87–1.67) when all selected studies were pooled, but screening on smoking cessation was effective (RR, 1.58; 95% CI, 1.14–2.19) when limited to studies with smoking cessation programs that provided smoking cessation medicines or intensive counseling at public health centers or medical institutions. CONCLUSION: In this study, no direct evidence for the impact on health outcomes of screening asymptomatic adults for COPD was identified similar to the previous SR. Further research is necessary to confirm the benefits of COPD screening.