copd

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has been defined by the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD), an international collaborative effort to improve awareness, diagnosis, and treatment of COPD, as a disease state characterized by airflow limitation that is not fully reversible (http://www.goldcopd.com/). COPD includes emphysema, an anatomically defined condition characterized by destruction and enlargement of the lung alveoli; chronic bronchitis, a clinically defined condition with chronic cough and phlegm; and small airways disease, a condition in which small bronchioles are narrowed. COPD is present only if chronic airflow obstruction occurs; chronic bronchitis without chronic airflow obstruction is not included within COPD.

COPD is the fourth leading cause of death and affects >16 million persons in the United States. COPD is also a disease of increasing public health importance around the world. GOLD estimates suggest that COPD will rise from the sixth to the third most common cause of death worldwide by 2020.