Unpacking COPD: Patient Assessment for Targeted Care
COPD is a diverse disease that requires a nuanced approach to diagnosis and patient evaluation. PA Bizik walks through identifying phenotypes like chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and eosinophilic COPD. He explains how tools like spirometry and blood eosinophil count help determine disease severity and inform treatment planning. By understanding the underlying mechanisms, clinicians can better match therapies to each patient’s needs.
Key Takeaways:
- Spirometry is the gold standard for diagnosing and monitoring COPD.
- Blood eosinophil count is a reliable biomarker for determining eosinophilic inflammation.
- The data needed to understand if a patient has eosinophilic COPD are already in their chart.
Speaker
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References and Additional Resources:
Beech A, Higham A, Booth S, Tejwani V, Trinkmann F, Singh D. Type 2 inflammation in COPD: is it just asthma? Breathe (Sheff). 2024;20(3):230229. doi:10.1183/20734735.0229-2023
Get the facts about COPD and living with the disease. Cleveland Clinic. September 25, 2023. Accessed July 23, 2025. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/coping-with-copd
Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease. Global Strategy for the Diagnosis, Mangement, and Prevention of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.; 2025. https://goldcopd.org/2025-gold-report/
Kuang FL. Approach to patients with eosinophilia. Med Clin North Am. 2020;104(1):1-14. doi:10.1016/j.mcna.2019.08.005
Lung development may explain why some non-smokers get COPD and some heavy smokers do not. National Institutes of Health (NIH). Accessed July 23, 2025. https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/lung-development-may-explain-why-some-non-smokers-get-copd-some-heavy-smokers-do-not
Martinez-Garcia MA, Faner R, Oscullo G, et al. Inhaled steroids, circulating eosinophils, chronic airway infection, and pneumonia risk in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. A network analysis. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2020;201(9):1078-1085. doi:10.1164/rccm.201908-1550OC
Müllerová H, Hahn B, Simard EP, Mu G, Hatipoğlu U. Exacerbations and health care resource use among patients with COPD in relation to blood eosinophil counts. Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis. 2019;14:683-692. doi:10.2147/COPD.S194367
Phillips KM, Lavere PF, Hanania NA, Adrish M. The emerging biomarkers in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A narrative review. Diagnostics (Basel). 2025;15(10):1245. doi:10.3390/diagnostics15101245
Yun JH, Lamb A, Chase R, et al. Blood eosinophil count thresholds and exacerbations in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2018;141(6):2037-2047.e10. doi:10.1016/j.jaci.2018.04.010
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