Finding the hidden millions: identifying undiagnosed, symptomatic COPD through lung cancer screening (the FRONTIER Programme)

<bold>Introduction:</bold> Many people live with COPD for years before diagnosis, potentially contributing to adverse outcomes. Lung cancer screening provides a potential opportunity for earlier COPD diagnosis. The FRONTIER Programme invited individuals who attended lung cancer screening during the pandemic to attend a one-stop diagnostic clinic, if they reported symptoms and/or had emphysema identified on low dose CT. <bold>Aims and Objectives:</bold> To report the clinical characteristics and COPD diagnosis rate among FRONTIER Programme participants between October 2023 and January 2024. <bold>Methods:</bold> Individuals participating in a lung cancer screening programme during the COVID pandemic were invited to a one-stop diagnostic clinic as part of the FRONTIER Programme. A minimum dataset including participant characteristics, patient reported outcomes, pre- and post-bronchodilator spirometry and clinical diagnosis were recorded. <bold>Results:</bold> 201 individuals attended the FRONTIER Programme one-stop diagnostic clinic and 136 (68%) received a new COPD diagnosis. Participants’ clinical characteristics, stratified by COPD status, are presented in a Table. <fig><object-id>erj;64/suppl_68/PA3014/F1</object-id><object-id>F1</object-id><object-id>F1</object-id><graphic></graphic></fig> <bold>Conclusion:</bold> The results of this study indicate COPD diagnostics should be included as part of the Lung Cancer Screening programme. Identifying those at high risk of COPD based on presence of symptoms and/or emphysema during lung cancer screening leads to a high diagnostic yield.