Treatment of COPD: No longer nihilism, but there is still an urgent need for new therapies

摘要

In 2006, Bartoleme Celli highlighted that a nihilistic attitude toward the patient with GOPD is not justified because we have expanded our drug therapy armamentarium and are using drugs to effectively improve dyspnea and quality of life. In these last 5 years, the Celli's opinion has been strengthened by the results of three fundamental randomized clinical trials with long-acting bronchodilators, including long-acting beta-agonists and the long-acting anticholinergic tiotropium, as well as inhaled corticosteroids. These trials have documented benefits on important outcomes such as exacerbation frequency, symptoms, quality of life, and other measures of health status in GOPD patients.