Hanyang Med Rev.  2005 Nov;25(4):40-45.

Complications of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

• Song JS

Abstract

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) generally follows decades of heavy cigarette smoking; although other risk factors may be present, burning of biomass fuels in developing countries is of particular concern. Most of the patients with COPD complain of dyspnea owing to obstructive airway disease, hyperinflation, and respiratory failure. Pulmonary hypertension, corpulmonale, and other smoking-related diseases such as cardiovascular disease and lung cancer may also be prominent in COPD patients. COPD patients are also prone to develop pneumothorax and chronic pulmonary thromboembolic disease. In this review, I briefly summarize the complications and accompanying disorders in association with COPD.

Keyword

COPD; Complication; Smoking

MeSH Terms

Biomass
Burns
Cardiovascular Diseases
Developing Countries
Dyspnea
Humans
Hypertension, Pulmonary
Lung Neoplasms
Pneumothorax
Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive*
Respiratory Insufficiency
Risk Factors
Smoking