TY - JOUR T1 - Should I stay or should I go? COPD and air travel JF - European Respiratory Review JO - EUROPEAN RESPIRATORY REVIEW DO - 10.1183/16000617.0030-2018 VL - 27 IS - 148 SP - 180030 AU - Begum Ergan AU - Metin Akgun AU - Angela Maria Grazia Pacilli AU - Stefano Nava Y1 - 2018/06/30 UR - http://err.ersjournals.com/content/27/148/180030.abstract N2 - Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a challenging respiratory problem throughout the world. Although survival is prolonged with new therapies and better management, the magnitude of the burden resulting from moderate-to-severe disease is increasing. One of the major aims of the disease management is to try to break the vicious cycle of patients being homebound and to promote an active lifestyle. A fundamental component of active daily life is, of course, travelling. Today, the world is getting smaller with the option of travelling by air. Air travel is usually the most preferred choice as it is easy, time saving, and relatively inexpensive. Although it is a safe choice for many passengers, the environment inside the aeroplane may sometimes have adverse effects on health. Hypobaric hypoxaemia due to cabin altitude may cause health risks in COPD patients who have limited cardiopulmonary reserve. Addressing the potential risks of air travel, promoting proactive strategies including pre-flight assessment, and education of COPD patients about the “fitness to fly” concept are essential. Thus, in this narrative review, we evaluated the current evidence for potential risks of air travel in COPD and tried to give a perspective for how to plan safe air travel for COPD patients.COPD patients should be informed about the “fitness to fly” concept and patients with moderate-to-severe disease need to be assessed with clinical and functional parameters for possible risk factors for in-flight hypoxaemia before flying http://ow.ly/Yd4A30k41Hq ER -