Unexpected improvements of lung function in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is usually characterized by a progressive decline of lung function. We reported the 10 years follow-up of an elderly man, a heavy smoker with severe COPD and apical bullous emphysema. During 6 months pulmonary rehabilitation program the patient's clinical state improved significantly and it associated with a steep increase in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1). This case report elaborates on the unexpected gain of FEV1 in the follow-up of a COPD patient.publisher: Elsevier articletitle: Unexpected improvements of lung function in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease journaltitle: Respiratory Medicine Case Reports articlelink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rmcr.2016.05.004 content_type: article copyright: © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.status: publishe