Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2006 Mar;61(3):250-8.
doi: 10.1136/thx.2005.041822.

COPD exacerbations . 2: aetiology

E Sapey  1 , R A Stockley
Affiliations
Review

COPD exacerbations . 2: aetiology

E Sapey et al. Thorax. 2006 Mar.

Abstract

Exacerbations of COPD are thought to be caused by complex interactions between the host, bacteria, viruses, and environmental pollution. These factors increase the inflammatory burden in the lower airways, overwhelming the protective anti-inflammatory defences leading to tissue damage. Frequent exacerbations are associated with increased morbidity and mortality, a faster decline in lung function, and poorer health status, so prevention or optimal treatment of exacerbations is a global priority. In order to evolve new treatment strategies there has been great interest in the aetiology and pathophysiology of exacerbations, but progress has been hindered by the heterogeneous nature of these episodes, vague definitions of an exacerbation, and poor stratification of known confounding factors when interpreting results. We review how an exacerbation should be defined, its inflammatory basis, and the importance of exacerbations on disease progression. Important aetiologies, with their potential underlying mechanisms, are discussed and the significance of each aetiology is considered.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: none declared.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Stockley R A. Neutrophils and the pathogenesis of COPD. Chest 2002121151–5S. - PubMed
    1. Seemungal T A, Donaldson G C, Paul E A.et al Effect of exacerbation on quality of life in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 19981571418–1422. - PubMed
    1. Seemungal T A, Donaldson G C, Bhowmik A.et al Time course and recovery of exacerbations in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 20001611608–1613. - PubMed
    1. Wedzicha J A. The heterogeneity of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Thorax 200055631–632. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Pauwels R A, Buist A S, Calverley P M.et al Global strategy for the diagnosis, management and prevention of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. NHLBI/WHO Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) workshop summary. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 20011631256–1276. - PubMed

MeSH terms