Official Guidelines of the Swiss Respiratory Society

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is defined as a disorder characterised by expiratory airflow limitation that is not fully re-versible [1]. The airflow limitation is usually slowly progressive and associated with an inflammatory response of the lungs to noxious particles or gases. The airflow obstruction may be caused by struc-tural alterations and/or functional factors. COPD, related in most cases to extensive cigarette smok-ing, is a leading cause of chronic morbidity and mortality among patients over 55. Over the past ten years several guidelines for the assessment and management of COPD have been published [2–5]. Our new guidelines are based on those published in 1997 [6], the GOL