Airway Mucus Plugs on Chest Computed Tomography Are Associated with Exacerbations in COPD.

Unlabelled: Rationale/Objective: Acute exacerbations (AEs) of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Whether mucus plugs are associated with prospective exacerbations has not been examined extensively.

Methods: Mucus plugs were visually-identified on baseline chest computed tomography (CT) scans from smokers with Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) grades 2-4 COPD enrolled in two multicenter cohort studies: Evaluation of COPD Longitudinally to Identify Predictive Surrogate Endpoints (ECLIPSE) and COPDGene.

AM/PM dosing of LAMA for COPD: a randomized controlled trial protocol using digital recruitment and registries.

Rationale: Long-acting muscarinic antagonists (LAMAs) reduce the risk of acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD), usually taken once daily in the morning. However, the circadian activity of autonomic regulation suggests that the highest need for anticholinergic therapy may be in the late night/early morning. This is supported by evidence that AECOPD most often begins in the morning.

Rethinking Blood Eosinophils for Assessing Inhaled Corticosteroids Response in COPD: A Post Hoc Analysis From the FLAME Trial.

Background: The varied treatment response to inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) in patients with COPD and the associated increased risk of pneumonia necessitate a personalized ICS therapeutic approach. This is informed by blood eosinophil count (BEC), which predicts ICS treatment response. However, BEC appears to change in response to ICS treatment.

Housing conditions and risk of incident COPD: a Danish cohort study, 2000-2018.

Background: More knowledge is needed on the risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) associated with housing conditions and indoor environment based on cohort studies with a long follow-up time.

Objective: To examine the association between housing conditions and indoor environment and the risk of developing COPD.

Methods: In this cohort study, we followed 11,590 individuals aged ≥ 30 years free of COPD at baseline.

Low smoking exposure and development and prognosis of COPD over four decades: a population-based cohort study.

Background: A diagnosis of COPD is mainly considered in individuals with >10 pack-years of smoking. We tested the hypothesis that low smoking exposure, below the critical threshold of 10 pack-years, increases risk of COPD and leads to poor prognosis.

Methods: We followed non-obstructed adult smokers from the Copenhagen City Heart Study for COPD, defined as a forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV)/forced vital capacity <0.