ABSTRACT

Infectious exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) are the most common cause of medical care in this group of patients. The etiological agents appear in order of frequency depending on age, the presence of co-morbidities and above the degree of airflow obstruction. Exacerbations of COPD patients are the cause of respiratory and systemic functional impairment and sometimes takes weeks or months to recover. To this day we continue taking the criteria of Dr. Anthonisen modified by Dr. Seemungal to defining an exacerbation, however, there are recent advances in the field of biomarkers that promise to objectify and assist to take a decision in the diagnosis and treatment during patient care.

KEYWORDS

Acute exacerbation of COPD, severity of exacerbation, infectious agents, biomarkers, .

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