title: COPD: A stepwise or a hit hard approach?
abstract: Current guidelines differ slightly on the recommendations for treatment of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) patients, and although there are some undisputed recommendations, there is still debate regarding the management of COPD. One of the hindrances to deciding which therapeutic approach to choose is late diagnosis or misdiagnosis of COPD. After a proper diagnosis is achieved and severity assessed, the choice between a stepwise or "hit hard" approach has to be made. For GOLD A patients the stepwise approach is recommended, whilst for B, C and D patients this remains debatable. Moreover, in patients for whom inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) are recommended, a step-up or "hit hard" approach with triple therapy will depend on the patient's characteristics and, for patients who are being over-treated with ICS, ICS withdrawal should be performed, in order to optimize therapy and reduce excessive medications. This paper discusses and proposes stepwise, "hit hard", step-up and ICS withdrawal therapeutic approaches for COPD patients based on their GOLD group. We conclude that all approaches have benefits, and only a careful patient selection will determine which approach is better, and which patients will benefit the most from each approach.
authors.affiliation: Pulmonology Department, Centro Hospitalar Universitário de Coimbra, Portugal; Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Portugal.
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.affiliation: Pulmonology Department, Centro Hospitalar Tondela-Viseu, EPE, Portugal.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Reis
authors.affiliation: Pulmonology Department, Hospital de Vila Franca de Xira, Portugal.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Marçal
authors.affiliation: Chest Department, Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Norte, Lisbon, Portugal; Environmental Health Institute (ISAMB), Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon, Portugal.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pinto
authors.affiliation: Chest Department, Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Norte, Lisbon, Portugal; Environmental Health Institute (ISAMB), Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon, Portugal. Electronic address: cbarbara@netcabo.pt.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bárbara
mesh_terms: D000280:Administration, Inhalation; D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D006801:Humans; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000145:classification / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones
keywords: Bronchodilators; COPD; Hit hard; ICS; ICS withdrawal; Step-up; Stepwise