Diagnostic performance of clinical characteristics to detect airflow limitation in people living with HIV and in uninfected controls

OBJECTIVES: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is underdiagnosed in the general population and possibly also in people living with HIV (PLWH). We evaluated the diagnostic performance of symptoms and risk factors for assessment of airflow limitation in PLWH and in uninfected controls. METHODS: Spirometry was performed in the Copenhagen Comorbidity in HIV Infection (COCOMO) study and Copenhagen General Population Study (CGPS), and airflow limitation was defined by forced expiratory volume in 1 s/forced vital capacity 20 pack-years smoked [0.65; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.58-0.72] and wheezing (0.64; 95% CI 0.57-0.71). A summed score for five variables was associated with slightly higher AUC in PLWH compared with uninfected controls [0.71 (95% CI 0.63-0.79) versus 0.65 (95% CI 0.63-0.68), respectively; P = 0.06]. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical variables were relatively poor discriminators of airflow limitation in PLWH and uninfected controls. Active COPD case finding by screening for symptoms and relevant exposures, as recommended in the general population, is likely to yield similar diagnostic power in PLWH.