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A decade or so ago, many clinicians were described as having an unnecessarily 'nihilistic' view of COPD. This has certainly changed over the years... This open access book on COPD provides a platform for scientists and clinicians from around the world to present their knowledge of the disease and up-to-date scientific findings, and avails the reader to a multitude of topics: from recent discoveries in the basic sciences to state-of-the-art interventions on COPD. Management of patients with COPD challenges the whole gamut of Respiratory Medicine - necessarily pushing frontiers in pulmonary function (and exercise) testing, radiologic imaging, pharmaceuticals, chest physiotherapy, intensive care with respiratory therapy, bronchology and thoracic surgery. In addition, multi-disciplinary inputs from other specialty fields such as cardiology, neuro-psychiatry, geriatric medicine and palliative care are often necessary for the comprehensive management of COPD. The recent progress and a multi-disciplinary approach in dealing with COPD certainly bode well for the future. Nonetheless, the final goal and ultimate outcome is in improving the health status and survival of patients with COPD.

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English