Answering the Call in COPD: Pharmacologic Treatment of COPD in the Primary Care Setting #3

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a complex and heterogeneous disease that is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Despite efforts to standardize the diagnosis, treatment, and management of this progressive disease, many patients receive a delayed diagnosis or remain undiagnosed and face dismal outcomes. Additionally, despite the availability of several pharmacologic therapies and continually updated guideline recommendations, COPD is sub-optimally treated in current clinical practice. As a result, patients with COPD are associated with a poor quality of life, with many patients living in discomfort and experiencing debilitating exacerbations. Recently, evidence has demonstrated the utility of combination therapy in reducing exacerbations among patients with COPD and updated guidelines have identified specific patient subsets that can benefit from these approaches. Even if appropriate therapy is initiated, patients may have persistent barriers related to optimized medication delivery and adherence. Therefore, individualized evaluation of patient characteristics and associated device selection is recommended. This program will narrow in on pharmacologic treatment selection based on COPD severity, risk for acute exacerbations, and patient ability to use specific inhaler devices.

English broadcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZUlDGy5OFw

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