Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: 10 years of precision-guided success

The chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) research community has made substantial progress in the past 10 years. The most important paradigm shifts have been achieved in the prevention, biological assessment, and precision treatment of COPD exacerbations. Exacerbations account for most of the morbidity and mortality in patients with COPD. 1 Stolz D Mkorombindo T Schumann DM et al. Towards the elimination of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a Lancet Commission. Lancet. 2022; 400: 921-972 Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (45) Google Scholar Instead of accepting these events as inevitable, COPD clinicians now have effective treatments to prevent them. The Informing the Pathway of COPD Treatment (IMPACT) and the Efficacy and Safety of Triple Therapy in Obstructive Lung Disease (ETHOS) studies have found treatments that reduce the frequency of exacerbations and reduce all-cause mortality. In patients with COPD at highest risk of morbidity and mortality, treatments with inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) and maximal bronchodilation save lives.