Review articleCauses of misdiagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A systematic scoping review

•The study revealed five potential causes of misdiagnosis of COPD.•The causes of misdiagnosis of COPD are attributable mainly to spirometry.•Misdiagnosis of COPD often occurs due to errors made in primary care.

BackgroundChronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has serious implications at both the individual and the societal level. It is crucial that COPD is diagnosed correctly to ensure provision of the right treatment. However, the current diagnostic procedures may lead to misdiagnosis.AimThe aim of this scoping review was to disseminate knowledge about potential causes of misdiagnosis of COPD.MethodsA systematic, comprehensive search was performed in PubMed, Embase and Cinahl.ResultsA thorough review produced a sample of 73 articles. The synthesis revealed five potential causes of misdiagnosis of COPD, including: the threshold for defining COPD (n = 36), errors made in primary care (n = 15), errors linked to the spirometry test (n = 13), differential diagnoses (n = 10), and patient-related factors (n = 8).ConclusionsThe causes of misdiagnosis of COPD are attributable mainly to spirometry and to the healthcare professional performing the diagnostic assessment. With a view to limiting misdiagnosis of COPD, future research should help clarify strategies for alternative objective tests for determining if a patient has COPD and explore how to better support primary care in the diagnosing of COPD.