[Exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: current approaches to antibacterial therapy]

The article outlines current approaches to empiric antibacterial therapy of patients who had exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The choice of the antibiotics should be made basing on the frequency of exacerbations, COPD duration, severity of bronchial obstruction, age of the patient, concomitant visceral lesions. Common errors in antibacterial therapy are analysed: wrong choice of the antibiotic, mode of drug administration, dose, dose regimen, duration of treatment (too long); simultaneous intake of antibiotics and nistatine; frequent change of antibiotics throughout the treatment.