Current Respiratory Medicine Reviews - Volume 15, Issue 2, 2019

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common and progressive disorder which is characterised by pathological abnormalities driven by chronic airway inflammation. The assessment of airway inflammation in routine clinical practice in COPD is limited to surrogate blood markers. Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FENO) is a marker of eosinophilic airway inflammation in asthma, and it can predict steroid responsivene Read More

Chronic obstructive lung disease is a common and preventable disease. One of its pathophysiological consequences is the presence of carbon dioxide retention due to hypoventilation and ventilation/perfusion mismatch, which in consequence will cause a decrease in the acid/base status of the patient. Whenever a patient develops an acute exacerbation, acute respiratory hypercapnic failure will appear and the necessity of Read More

Despite being a disease with the constantly rising social burden and mortality, COPD is also associated with a number of other conditions known as comorbidities. COPD and other diseases often share similar risk factors, such as smoking and aging, which leads to increased prevalence of comorbidities. The key pathogenic mechanisms of COPD are chronic inflammation and oxidative stress and they also contribute significa Read More

Triple inhaled therapy for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) includes an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS), a long-acting b2-agonist (LABA) and a long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA) taken in combination. Triple therapy is recommended by the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) for patients who experience recurrent exacerbations despite treatment with either a dual bronchodilat Read More

COPD and Type 2 diabetes are two highly prevalent global health conditions associated with high mortality and morbidity. The connection between these two common diseases is complex, and more research is required for further understanding of these conditions. COPD is being increasingly recognized as a risk factor for the development of type2 diabetes through different mechanisms including systemic inflammation, obesit Read More

The benefit of non-invasive ventilation (NIV) in stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remains controversial. However, there is increasingly more evidence of NIV efficiency, especially high-flow NIV. This review presents the old and the new evidence of NIV effectiveness in stable COPD, considering pathophysiological arguments for NIV in COPD. Guidelines, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and crossover st Read More

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by airflow limitation, hyperinflation and reduced gas exchange that lead to progressive dyspnea. Pulmonary rehabilitation, lifestyle changes, pharmacotherapy, long-term oxygen therapy, noninvasive ventilation and surgical therapeutic approaches are the basic management strategies. Purpose: In the last 15 years, various bronchoscopic therapeutic Read More

Health care systems worldwide are commonly burdened with COPD and lung cancer and subsequently much has been studied and learnt of the interdependence between these two clinical entities. Lung cancer surgical treatment options in patients with severe COPD remain a clinical challenge for the multidisciplinary team. Appropriate patient selection and prediction of postoperative pulmonary complications aid in su Read More

Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) or alpha-1 antitrypsin proteinase inhibitor (α1-Pi) deficiency, is a genetic disorder leading to a higher risk of pulmonary, hepatic and other organrelated diseases. The spectrum of diseases associated with AATD is large and includes pulmonary conditions (COPD, asthma, asthma-COPD overlap syndrome, bronchiectasis, etc.) as well as extrapulmonary (liver diseases, systemic vasculitis, rhe Read More