[Pharmacological treatment of COPD. Where are we now?]

Abstract

Current clinical guidelines recommend a step-wise approach to the pharmacological treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), with drugs being added according to the severity of airflow obstruction, symptoms, and the number of acute exacerbations in patients with severe disease. However, greater knowledge of the physiopathogenesis of this disease has led to COPD being considered a heterogeneous process in which therapeutic decisions should not be based exclusively on the results of spirometry. Treatment is increasingly individualized according to the patient's characteristics. The present article reviews the scientific evidence on the aims of treatment in COPD and the benefits achieved by the various pharmacological options available.