Acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are associated with a significant mortality, health and economic burden. Their diagnosis, assessment and management remain suboptimal and unchanged for decades. Recent clinical and translational studies revealed that the significant heterogeneity in mechanisms and outcomes of exacerbations could be resolved by grouping them etiologically. This is anticipated to lead to a better understanding of the biological processes that underlie each type of exacerbation and to allow the introduction of precision medicine interventions that could improve outcomes. This review summarises novel data on the diagnosis, phenotyping, targeted treatment and prevention of COPD exacerbations.

中文翻译：

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慢性阻塞性肺疾病的急性加重：寻找诊断生物标志物和可治疗的特征

慢性阻塞性肺疾病 (COPD) 的急性加重与显着的死亡率、健康和经济负担有关。几十年来，他们的诊断、评估和管理仍然不理想且没有变化。最近的临床和转化研究表明，急性加重的机制和结果的显着异质性可以通过对它们进行病因分组来解决。预计这将有助于更好地了解每种类型恶化背后的生物学过程，并允许引入可以改善结果的精准医学干预措施。本综述总结了关于 COPD 急性加重的诊断、表型、靶向治疗和预防的新数据。