COPD frequent exacerbators: time for the recycle bin?

Extract

COPD is a highly prevalent chronic disease with increased mortality and morbidity. The chronic symptoms result in impaired quality of life interspersed with episodes of acute worsening (exacerbations), which increase patient stress, and the likelihood of hospital admissions and death. These episodes are not only dangerous but also worsen background quality of life, increase the general healthcare burden and lead to disease progression [1, 2]. Therefore, they represent a key target in patient management and have become a primary clinical outcome measure in pharmaceutical drug registration.