Diagnostic value of oral prednisolone test for chronic obstructive pulmonary disorders.

Purpose: We wanted to determine the diagnostic value of an oral prednisolone test for chronic obstructive pulmonary disorders.

Methods: Two hundred thirty-three patients with cough for longer than 14 days, without known chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or asthma, participated in a diagnostic study in Dutch primary care between 2006 and 2009. These patients used a 14-day prednisolone test of 30 mg/d and recorded before-after bronchodilator measurements of forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV(1)).