title: Pharmacoepidemiologic study of acute exacerbations of COPD: challenges and opportunities.
abstract: Guideline recommendations for the treatment of acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are derived from randomized clinical trials; they usually have a small sample size and are unrepresentative of patient populations. By contrast, observation data represent real-world patient population with large sample sizes and greater generalizability; however, appropriate methodologies are needed to analyze the data and make sound inference. This article reviews the study by Rothberg et al., summarizes the key findings, and extends the discussion to the challenges and opportunities of pharmacoepidemiologic studies in acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
authors.affiliation: Division of Epidemiology and Disease Control, School of Public Health, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 1200 Herman Pressler, Suite W610, Houston, TX 77030, USA. cltsai@post.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Chu-Lin
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Tsai