Gail Weinmann

TL;DR: Overall, lung-volume-reduction surgery increases the chance of improved exercise capacity but does not confer a survival advantage over medical therapy, although it does yield a survival advantages for patients with both predominantly upper-lobe emphysema and low base-line exercise capacity.

TL;DR: Inhaled triamcinolone does not slow the rate of decline in lung function in people with COPD, but it improves airway reactivity and respiratory symptoms and decreases the use of health care services for respiratory problems.

TL;DR: Caution is warranted in the use of lung-volume-reduction surgery in patients with emphysema who have a low FEV1 and either homogeneous emphySEma or a very low carbon monoxide diffusing capacity, and these patients are at high risk for death after surgery and also are unlikely to benefit from the surgery.

TL;DR: Although patients with advanced emphysema experience significant mortality, subgroups based on age, oxygen utilization, physiologic measures, exercise capacity, and emphySEma distribution identify those at increased risk of death.

TL;DR: Women with severe COPD exhibit anatomically smaller airway lumens with disproportionately thicker airway walls, and emphysema that is less extensive and characterized by smaller hole size and less peripheral involvement.