ABSTRACT
A 52-year-old woman presents to discuss her chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and specifically the problem she is having with exacerbations and the amount of time she has missed work. She is a heavy smoker, and has been diagnosed with COPD by prior physicians. However, she also has a history of childhood asthma and allergic rhinitis. Recent spirometry is consistent with obstructive lung disease (OLD) although she had some reversibility (250 mL and 20%) with a post-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) of 60% predicted.
