Role of spirometry
| Diagnosis |
| Assessment of severity of airflow obstruction (for prognosis) |
| Follow-up assessment |
| Therapeutic decisions |
| Pharmacological in selected circumstances (e.g., discrepancy between spirometry and level of symptoms) |
| Consider alternative diagnoses when symptoms are disproportionate to degree of airflow obstruction |
| Nonpharmacological (e.g., interventional procedures) |
| Identification of rapid decline |