Accuracy of clinical examination findings in the diagnosis of COPD.

Objective: Simple diagnostic methods can facilitate the diagnosis of COPD, which is a major public health problem. The objective of this study was to investigate the accuracy of clinical variables in the diagnosis of COPD.

Methods: Patients with COPD and control subjects were prospectively evaluated by two investigators regarding nine clinical variables.

Sputum examination in the clinical management of community-acquired pneumonia.

Objective: To evaluate the frequency of the use of sputum examination in the clinical management of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in a general hospital and to determine whether its use has an impact on mortality.

Methods: The medical records of CAP patients treated as inpatients between May and November of 2004 at the Nossa Senhora da Conceição Hospital, located in Porto Alegre, Brazil, were reviewed regarding the following aspects: age; gender; severity of pneumonia (Fine score); presence of sputum; sputum bacteriology; treatment history; change in treatment; and mortality.

Results: A total of 274 CAP patients (134 males and 140 females) were evaluated.