Copd

What is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)? COPD is a term that refers to a group of lung diseases that can interfere with normal breathing. According to the American Lung Association, more than 13 million Americans suffer from COPD. It is the third leading cause of death in the U.S. What are the different types of COPD? The two most common conditions of COPD are chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Some doctors agree that asthma should be classified as a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, while others do not. A brief description of asthma is included below: What is chronic bronchitis? Chronic bronchitis means long-term inflammation of the bronchi (the breathing passages in the lungs), which results in increased production of mucus, as well as other changes. These changes may result in breathing problems, frequent infections, cough, and disability. What is pulmonary emphysema? Emphysema is a chronic lung condition in which alveoli (the air sacs in the lungs) may become: • Destroyed • Narrowed • Collapsed • Stretched • Overinflated This can cause a decrease in respiratory function and breathlessness. Damage to the air sacs is irreversible and results in permanent "holes" in the lung tissue. What is asthma? Asthma is a chronic, inflammatory lung disease involving recurrent breathing problems. The characteristics of asthma include the following: • The lining of the airways becomes swollen and inflamed. • The muscles that surround the airways tighten. • The producti...

• COPD is chronic. In other words, you live with it every day. • It is progressive, meaning it gets worse over time. • COPD is diagnosed by reviewing your medical history, a physical examination and examining your spirometry test results. • Chronic bronchitis and emphysema are the most common types of COPD. You can be diagnosed with both of these, and this is also called COPD. How COPD Affects Your Body Not everyone with COPD has the same symptoms. At first, you may have no symptoms or mild symptoms. As your COPD gets worse, you may have more symptoms like a cough that may bring up sputum (mucus or phlegm) or shortness of breath. With COPD, less air flows in and out of your airways for one or more reasons: • airways in your lungs become narrowed due to being swollen (inflamed) and thickened • walls between your air sacs are destroyed • airways and tiny air sacs lose their ability to stretch and shrink back • airways make more mucus which can clog them and block air flow When less Oxygen, one of the gases found in the air we breathe, is vital for our lungs and organs to work properly. Oxygen is exchanged for waste product or carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is removed from the blood stream when you exhale. When it becomes harder to get air in and out of your airways, you may have more breathing-related symptoms. COPD is often not found until the disease is more advanced because people do not know the warning signs. Sometimes people think their shortness of breath is because t...

For patients with symptoms from COPD, the ATS recommends combination therapy with a long-acting beta agonist (LABA) and a long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA) based on improved outcomes over monotherapy with either agent. LABA/LAMA combination therapy results in fewer exacerbations than monotherapy, with a number needed to treat (NNT) of 12 to prevent one exacerbation (95% CI, 8 to 29). Hospitalizations are also reduced with combination therapy (NNT = 53; 95% CI, 31 to 200) compared with monotherapy. With LABA/LAMA combination therapy, patients experience a mild decrease in dyspnea and a clinically insignificant quality of life improvement without increased adverse events. If patients with COPD are symptomatic despite combination LABA/LAMA therapy, adding an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) can be considered. Adding the ICS reduces exacerbations over LABA/LAMA therapy (NNT = 16; 95% CI, 12 to 33) without changing dyspnea or health-related quality of life. The risk of pneumonia increases with ICS/LABA/LAMA triple therapy compared with LABA/LAMA therapy, although with no increase in hospitalization rates. Patients with blood eosinophilia and COPD have greater reduction in exacerbations and a greater risk of pneumonia with ICS use. Maintenance oral corticosteroid therapy is not recommended, even in patients with severe and frequent exacerbations. Oral corticosteroid therapy in these patients does not appear to change dyspnea, exacerbations, hospitalization, or mortality in li...

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema, is a long-term lung disease that makes it hard to breathe. The good news is COPD is often preventable and treatable. Here you'll find information, resources and tools to help you understand COPD, manage treatment and lifestyle changes, find support and take action.

COPD: Clinical Guidance and Practice Resources Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) affects around 15 million people in the U.S. and costs more than $32 billion annually.* Chronic lower respiratory diseases, including COPD, are the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S. and the third leading cause of death worldwide.** Family physicians are key players in managing COPD through diagnosis, treatment, and coordination of care. Treatment and Management Recommendations Developed by the AAFP (April 2021) The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) is a resource that provides a review of evidence with practice considerations and is widely used by clinicians in managing stable COPD. As this document is not a clinical practice guideline, it did not meet the criteria to be reviewed by the AAFP for endorsement. Managing Your Practice Train your team on the benefits, concepts, and steps of the quality improvement process to enhance the care you provide. Includes two online learning courses, three customizable slide decks, and six downloadable tools. CME: 1 AAFP Prescribed credit; Free to members. FPM Journal * Kochanek KD, Murphy SL, Xu J, et al. Deaths: final data for 2014. Natl Vital Stat Rep. 2016;65(4):1-122. AND #2. Ford ES, Murphy LB, Khavjou O, et al. Total and state-specific medical and absenteeism costs of COPD among adults aged ≥ 18 years in the United States for 2010 and projections through 2020. Chest. 2015; 147(1):31-45. ** Murphy SL, Xu J...