ABSTRACT
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common, chronic, and disabling disease with significant morbidity and mortality. Much of the associated morbidity and mortality of COPD is a direct consequence of exacerbations of the disease. Additionally, COPD is extremely costly to the health care system with direct costs in the United States estimated to be $21.8 billion annually (1). COPD exacerbations are extremely costly and account for 35% to 68% of the total direct cost of COPD in the United States (2,3). In the United Kingdom alone, more than £235 million is spent on COPD exacerbations per year (4). Because of the high cost of COPD exacerbations, both clinical and financial, there is great interest in preventing exacerbations from occurring in the first place. The focus of this chapter is to review the role of oxygen and mechanical ventilation in preventing and treating COPD exacerbations.
