Should all patients with COPD be treated with inhaled triple therapy?

Extract COPD is an under-recognised global epidemic, affecting 480 million people worldwide, which is approximately 10% of the adult population [1]. COPD is at present the third leading cause of mortality [2]. Over the next 30 years, the number of patients with COPD is expected to increase by 23%, such that by 2050 there will be nearly 600 million patients living with COPD [1]. The economic burden of COPD is staggering. In the United States alone, the annual healthcare expenditures related to the care of COPD patients approaches USD 40 billion per year [3]. Because of the soaring rates of COPD across the world, the best estimates suggest that COPD will cost the world's economy USD 7.8 trillion in direct and indirect expenditures over the next 30 years [4].