Drugs for COPD

The main goals of treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are to relieve symptoms, reduce the frequency and severity of exacerbations, prevent disease progression, and reduce mortality. GOLD (Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease) guidelines for treatment of COPD were updated recently.1 Treatment of acute exacerbations is not discussed here. Drugs available for treatment of COPD are listed in Tables 1 and 3.