ABSTRACT
Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who show repeated
emergency room (ER) consultations and=or hospital admissions due to exacerbations present a rapid progress of the disease severity with deterioration of health-
related quality of life (HRQL) and poor survival (1-5). Consequently, prevention of
exacerbations constitutes an important endpoint in COPD management (6-8).
