EDITORIAL

GOLD and COPD exacerbations

What is (and what is not) a COPD exacerbation: thoughts from the new GOLD guidelines

J R Hurst, J A Wedzicha

Academic Unit of Respiratory Medicine, Royal Free & University College Medical School, London, UK

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr J R Hurst
Academic Unit of Respiratory Medicine, Royal Free & University College Medical School, Rowland Hill Street, London NW3 2PF, UK; jrhurst@lineone.net

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Definition of what is (and what is not) a COPD exacerbation

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The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

During November 2006 an updated version of the World Health Organisation/US National Heart Lung and Blood Institute global initiative for chronic obstructive lung disease (GOLD) guideline was made available online.¹ We applaud those involved in creating a living document which has done much to raise the profile of this devastating disease. For many years chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was a neglected condition, but research output is now considerable and there have been many developments in the 5 years since the first GOLD report of 2001.² It is widely appreciated that these include an increased understanding of the pathobiology of COPD and the availability of new agents in our evidence-based therapeutic armamentarium. So what else is new in the 2006 GOLD update?

First, and perhaps most importantly, the definition of COPD and the staging classification have been revised. COPD is now defined as a "preventable and . . . [Full text of this article]

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• Hurst, J., Donaldson, G., Wedzicha, J. (2009). "Temporal Clustering" of COPD Exacerbations May Reflect Corticosteroid Withdrawal. Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 180: 483-483 [Full Text]  
• Laurin, C., Labrecque, M., Dupuis, G., Bacon, S. L., Cartier, A., Lavoie, K. L. (2009). Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients With Psychiatric Disorders Are at Greater Risk of Exacerbations. Psychosom. Med. 71: 667-674 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Halpin, D M G (2008). Community care for COPD: the good, the bad and the ugly. Thorax 63: 187-189 [Full Text]  
• Wedzicha, J. A., Hurst, J. R. (2007). Structural and Functional Co-conspirators in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Exacerbations. Proc Am Thorac Soc 4: 602-605 [Abstract] [Full Text]