Copd Exacerbation Definition
Overview chronic obstructive pulmonary disease copd is a chronic inflammatory lung disease that causes obstructed airflow from the lungs.
Copd exacerbation definition. This affects airflow to the lungs. Then suddenly you may have a flare up often caused by a lung infection. It may be triggered by an infection with bacteria or viruses or by environmental pollutants. An acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis aecb is a sudden worsening of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease copd symptoms including shortness of breath quantity and color of phlegm that typically lasts for several days.
An exacerbation of copd is a sustained worsening of the patient s condition from the stable state and beyond normal day to day variations that is acute in onset and may warrant additional treatment in a patient with underlying copd. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease copd is a chronic illness that can be periodically punctuated by exacerbations characterised by acute worsening of symptoms including increased dyspnoea cough sputum production and sputum purulence. A person with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease copd experiences long term progressive damage to their lungs. It s typically caused by long term exposure to irritating gases or particulate matter most often from cigarette smoke.
What is a copd exacerbation. The best general definition of a copd exacerbation is the following. Symptoms include breathing difficulty cough mucus sputum production and wheezing.