Key references: Treatment of a COPD exacerbation

Systemic corticosteroids

  • Walters JA, Tan DJ, White CJ, Gibson PG, Wood-Baker R, Walters EH. Systemic corticosteroids for acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2014;(9):CD001288. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25178099
  • Walters JA, Tan DJ, White CJ, Wood-Baker R. Different durations of corticosteroid therapy for exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2018;3:CD006897. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29553157

Ventilatory support

  • Osadnik CR, Tee VS, Carson-Chahhoud KV, Picot J, Wedzicha JA, Smith BJ. Non-invasive ventilation for the management of acute hypercapnic respiratory failure due to exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2017;7:CD004104. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28702957
  • Parker K, Perikala V, Aminazad A, Deng Z, Borg B, Buchan C, et al. Models of care for non-invasive ventilation in the Acute COPD Comparison of three Tertiary hospitals (ACT3) study. Respirology 2018;23(5):492–7. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29224257