GOLD 2023 Update: Implications for Clinical Practice

Diana R Tamondong-Lachica; Neil Skolnik; John R Hurst; Nathaniel Marchetti; Adrian Paul J Rabe; Maria Montes de Oca; Bartolome R Celli

doi:10.2147/COPD.S404690

GOLD 2023 Update: Implications for Clinical Practice

Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis. 2023 May 5:18:745-754. doi: 10.2147/COPD.S404690. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Diana R Tamondong-Lachica¹, Neil Skolnik², John R Hurst³, Nathaniel Marchetti⁴, Adrian Paul J Rabe^{5

6}, Maria Montes de Oca⁷, Bartolome R Celli⁸

Affiliations

¹ College of Medicine, University of the Philippines Manila, Manila, Philippines.
² Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, Abington, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
³ UCL Respiratory, University College London, London, UK.
⁴ Department of Thoracic Medicine and Surgery, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
⁵ Department of Primary Care and Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UK.
⁶ Biopharmaceuticals Medical, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK.
⁷ Pulmonary and Thoracic Surgery Department, Universidad Central de Venezuela, School of Medicine, Centro Médico de Caracas, Caracas, Venezuela.
⁸ Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.

Abstract

In 2022, over 3 million people died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and the global burden of the disease is expected to increase over the coming decades. Recommendations for the treatment and management of patients with COPD are published by the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease, and updated annually with scientific evidence-based recommendations. The 2023 updates, published in November 2022, contain key changes to recommendations for diagnosis and treatment of COPD that are anticipated to have a significant impact on clinical practice for patients with COPD. Updates to how COPD is defined and diagnosed, including the expansion of contributing factors beyond tobacco use, have the potential to lead to the diagnosis of more patients and to allow for the implementation of early interventions for patients during early stages of the disease. Simplification of the treatment algorithms, and placement of triple therapy within these algorithms, will support clinicians in providing appropriate, timely treatment for patients with COPD with a focus on reducing the risk of future exacerbations. Finally, recognition of mortality reduction as a treatment goal in COPD supports an increase in the use of triple therapy, the only pharmacological intervention that has been demonstrated to improve survival for patients with COPD. Although further guidance and clarification are needed in some areas, such as use of blood eosinophil counts in guiding treatment decisions and implementation of treatment protocols following hospitalizations, recent updates to the GOLD recommendations will support clinicians in addressing current gaps in patient care. Clinicians should utilize these recommendations to drive the early diagnosis of patients with COPD, the identification of exacerbations, and the selection of appropriate, timely treatments for patients.

Keywords: COPD; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; clinical practice; guidelines; implications; primary care; respiratory.

MeSH terms

Early Diagnosis
Hospitalization
Humans
Patient Care
Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive* / diagnosis
Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive* / drug therapy

Grants and funding

This article was funded by AstraZeneca. AstraZeneca provided all necessary scientific bibliography and funded medical writing support and publication charges. The authors did not receive direct funding for the writing of this article.