Exacerbations in COPD: a personalised approach to care

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can have acute episodes of worsening symptoms, known generically as exacerbations, which are clinically relevant because they involve an acute deterioration of the patient's health status, worsen the patient's prognosis, and are the main cause of economic expenditure associated with COPD.1–5 However, whether these episodes are truly due to an exacerbation of the underlying disease or correspond to worsening symptoms due to any of the diseases that commonly coexist with COPD is difficult to ascertain.