ABSTRACT
Current national and international guidelines advocate the use of bronchodilators for the treatment of all degrees of severity of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). While anticholinergics are preferred as initial therapy in some countries, the combination of betaadrenoceptor agonists and anticholinergic drugs with a short or long duration of action are preferred and also more effective for moderate disease, sometimes supplemented with the use of theophylline.
