Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (Fast Facts)

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a heterogeneous collection of respiratory syndromes with overlapping manifestations. As well as the characteristic shortness of breath, the disease is associated with a number of comorbidities that can present major clinical problems for the individual. This fully updated second edition of Fast Facts: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease offers a concise and expert review of: the disease process, its causes and progression diagnostic techniques, including lung function tests and imaging differential diagnoses the main clinical features, systemic effects and comorbidities current treatments to reduce symptoms and improve lung function in stable disease the prevention and management of acute exacerbations the latest clinical trial results, supporting aggressive therapy to reduce lung function decline risk factor reduction, primarily through smoking cessation future diagnostic and therapeutic developments Fast Facts: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease is an invaluable resource for all healthcare professionals, full of practical information on the early recognition, stabilization and successful management of this multifaceted disease Contents Pathology and pathogenesis; Etiology and natural history; Clinical features; Lung function tests; Imaging; Smoking cessation; Therapy in stable disease; Acute exacerbations of COPD; Future trends