Outpatient management

The successful management of outpatients with COPD requires a multifaceted approach that includes prophylactic, palliative, and life-extending therapies. All patients should undergo smoking cessation, avoid potentially harmful environments, and receive influenza and pneumococcal vaccines at recommended intervals. Although medical therapy may yield only marginal benefits in patients with minimal airway responsiveness, even small improvements may translate into significant functional benefits and will be greatly appreciated. Therefore, every effort should be expended to optimize the patient's medical regimen and to ascertain that methods of delivery (such as use of spacers) are as recommended. Physical therapy measures may be useful in patients with copious sputum production, and pursed-lip and diaphragmatic breathing exercises may reduce dyspnea and lend a sense of control to patients with severe flow limitation. Oxygen therapy is the only modality demonstrated to improve survival in patients with severe COPD and may give symptomatic relief to some patients. Its use, however, is restricted to patients meeting guidelines for hypoxemia, and although dyspneic patients not meeting these guidelines may desire oxygen, insurers will decline coverage for them. Newer modalities, such as noninvasive ventilation, may improve gas exchange and quality of life in some patients with hypercapnia and nocturnal oxygen desaturations, but subgroups of COPD patients who benefit have not been well-defined, and pending further investigation, guidelines for use should be considered tentative. Patients should be encouraged to enter a comprehensive rehabilitation program, but if one is unavailable or the patient declines, a rehabilitation approach should be applied. Practitioners should attempt to educate patients at each visit, offering advice not only on medications, but also on regular exercise, good nutrition, and ways of coping psychologically with chronic illness. By taking such a comprehensive and caring approach, and being available to assist with problems and crises, the practitioner can help to enhance the quality and length of the COPD patient's life.