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Dyspnoea perception and susceptibility to exacerbation in COPD
  1. Heidi A Ridsdale1,2,
  2. John R Hurst2,3,4
  1. 1Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
  2. 2The Camden COPD Service,
  3. 3UCL Respiratory, UCL Medical School, University College London, London, UK
  4. 4Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
  1. Correspondence to Dr John R Hurst, UCL Respiratory, UCL Medical School, University College London, London NW3 2QG, UK; j.hurst{at}ucl.ac.uk

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COPD is a heterogeneous condition. This concept has evolved from classic descriptions of pink puffers and blue bloaters to a more complex understanding of disease phenotypes. Phenotypes are relevant because they may predict an important clinical outcome or a specific underlying disease mechanism (endotype), either or both of which might suggest benefit from a particular intervention—‘personalised medicine’. In addition to the progressive decline in lung function, symptoms and physical performance that characterise COPD, (some) patients are prone to periodic deteriorations in respiratory health called exacerbations. And given that exacerbations are responsible for much of the morbidity, mortality and therefore healthcare costs associated with COPD, exacerbation-susceptible patients or ‘frequent exacerbators’ form a clinically relevant phenotype. Why does one patient get more exacerbations than another? A simple clinical question, without a simple answer.

To this first level of complexity in COPD—phenotypes—we must add that exacerbations themselves are heterogeneous events. Assume, for a moment, that a patient is truly having an exacerbation (and not one of the other pathologies that can cause symptom deterioration in COPD1). That exacerbation might be caused by acquisition of a respiratory virus, …

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Footnotes

  • Correction notice This article has been corrected since it was published Online First. In the second paragraph, the word ‘hypercapnoea’ has been corrected to ‘heterogeneous’. In the fourth paragraph, the word ‘hypercapnia’ has been corrected to ‘hypercapnoea’.

  • Contributors HAR and JRH developed the concept. JRH wrote the first draft. HAR and JRH reviewed the draft and agreed the final version.

  • Competing interests None.

  • Provenance and peer review Commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

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