Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
- 2020 ATS and 2019 CTS practice guidelines delineating pharmacologic management of COPD.
- Introduced the new Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) Combined COPD Assessment using symptoms of breathlessness, spirometric classification, and risk of exacerbation to evaluate patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and guide treatment
- Epidemiology section updated to reflect new data suggesting a decline in the age-adjusted prevalence of COPD, likely as a result of decreased smoking rates
- Multiple new common genetic risk factors associated with COPD described, including a recently discovered functional genetic variant
- Discussion about the long-term care of patients with COPD extensively revised to include the most recent trials assessing indications for long-acting inhaled bronchodilators and inhaled corticosteroids, among other therapies
- Recent evidence supporting lung cancer screening in patients with COPD reviewed