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What is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)?

COPD is a progressive lung disease characterized by irreversible airway obstruction. COPD is usually caused by prolonged exposure to smoke, harmful dust or chemicals, mainly cigarette smoke. Exposure to biomass (wood, manure, etc.) smoke for a long time is also considered among the causes of COPD. COPD generally consists of chronic bronchitis and emphysema components. In some patients with COPD, emphysema is the predominant component, while in some patients chronic bronchitis is the predominant component. profdromerdeniz.com

Does everyone who smokes get COPD?

Not everyone who smokes will get COPD. The sensitivity of the smoker to cigarette smoke, the amount of cigarette smoked and its duration are important. The more cigarettes smoked, the higher the risk of developing COPD. The role of genetic factors in the emergence of COPD is very important. The lungs of some people are very sensitive to cigarette smoke. COPD occurs more easily in these individuals. In addition, factors affecting lung development, such as low birth weight and lung infections in infancy/childhood, are thought to be associated with COPD. About 20% of long-term smokers develop COPD. profdromerdeniz.com

What are the symptoms of COPD?

The symptoms of COPD are shortness of breath, chronic cough and sputum. Not all COPD patients are expected to have all of these symptoms. In general, shortness of breath in patients with COPD may increase over time and become evident with exercise. Shortness of breath may become permanent after a while. There may be wheezing accompanying shortness of breath. The cough may be with phlegm or a dry cough without phlegm. Sputum can be observed in patients with COPD with a predominant chronic bronchitis component or during worsening periods of COPD, called exacerbations.

How is COPD diagnosed?

Definitive diagnosis is made with a pulmonary function test called spirometry. Patients who have a suitable clinical picture and whose airway obstruction finding does not improve in the spirometry test despite the administration of bronchodilator drugs can be considered as COPD. Most of the patients have a history of long-term exposure to tobacco (cigarette, etc.) smoke or biomass. A rare genetic disorder in our country, alpha-1 antitrypsin (an enzyme that protects the lungs) deficiency can also cause COPD without exposure to smoke or chemicals. Widespread emphysematous areas are observed in thorax tomography of such patients. In addition, patients with bronchial asthma who have never smoked, have no dust or no smoke exposure, but have not been (adequately) treated may not respond adequately to bronchodilator drugs in the early period. In such cases, the spirometry test is repeated after cortisone drugs are used for a while. This test is called late reversibility  test. In such a case, if the spirometry test improves, the patient can be diagnosed as bronchial asthma. profdromerdeniz.com

Is there a cure for COPD?

There is no cure for COPD that allows to become fully healthy, that is, to become completely normal. Because structural changes have occurred in the lungs of patients with COPD at varying rates and differing for every single patient. Most of these changes are irreversible. profdromerdeniz.com

On the other hand, there are (treatment) methods applied to protect lung functions in COPD patients, to slow down the decrease in lung functions, to prevent exacerbations, to reduce symptoms, to increase quality of life and to increase exercise capacity. The most important of these is to quit smoking (Generally, to stay away from harmful smoke, dust or chemicals). Pulmonary rehabilitation, the most important components of which are exercise and patient education, is one of the treatment methods that has been shown to be beneficial for patients with COPD. Bronchodilator inhalers are drugs that have been shown to be of significant benefit in patients with COPD. Patients with COPD benefit from seasonal flu and pneumonia vaccines. Patients with COPD should have a balanced diet. Sleep patterns should be good. Patients with low oxygen levels should definitely use oxygen therapy. Because each patient’s condition differs in COPD, each patient should receive an INDIVIDUAL treatment appropriate for that patient. profdromerdeniz.com

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