Chest
Volume 147, Issue 4, April 2015, Pages 883-893
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Evidence-Based Medicine
Executive Summary: Prevention of Acute Exacerbation of COPD: American College of Chest Physicians and Canadian Thoracic Society Guideline

https://doi.org/10.1378/chest.14-1677Get rights and content

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Materials and Methods

Members from CHEST and CTS were selected to participate on the AECOPD Guideline panel based on their expertise in the field. Panelists were assigned to one of three writing groups that addressed each key question. The groups were referred to as PICO groups because the key questions were developed using the PICO format, which defines the population, intervention, comparator, and outcome of interest. The three PICO questions that addressed the prevention of AECOPD were nonpharmacologic therapies,

Background

Effective support and management of individuals at risk for an acute exacerbation of COPD demands a comprehensive and patient-centered approach. The widely adopted Chronic Care Model26, 27 recognizes that improvements in care require approaches incorporating patient-, provider-, and system-level interventions. Key elements of the Chronic Care Model are the health system, delivery system design (including case management), decision support, clinical information systems, self-management support

Conclusions

These guidelines provide the clinician with evidence-based information on therapies to prevent COPD exacerbations using an objective, rigorous, evidence-based approach to the assessment of the existing literature regarding nonpharmacologic inhaled and oral therapies (Fig 1). We have avoided providing opinions, instead using objective assessment of each recommendation where the data are robust enough to provide a meaningful conclusion based on the available data. This assessment also highlights

Acknowledgments

Author contributions:G. J. C. is the guarantor of the manuscript. G. J. C. drafted recommendations and supporting text for the Inhaled Therapies section and Introduction, oversaw the drafting of the Inhaled Therapies section and the entire manuscript, and synthesized all of the sections in the final manuscript and executive summary; J. B. oversaw the drafting of the Oral Therapies section and drafted supporting text for the section, advised the nonpharmacologic therapies writing committee, and

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    American College of Chest Physicians and Canadian Thoracic Society guidelines and other clinical statements are intended for general information only and do not replace professional medical care and physician advice, which always should be sought for any medical condition. The complete disclaimer for this guideline can be accessed at http://www.chestnet.org/Guidelines-and-Resources/Guidelines-and-Consensus-Statements/CHEST-Guidelines. The American College of Chest Physicians and the Canadian Thoracic Society supported the development this article and the innovations addressed within.Reproduction of this article is prohibited without written permission from the American College of Chest Physicians. See online for more details.

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