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VIDEO: GOLD guidelines drive therapy decisions in patients with COPD
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NEW ORLEANS — The GOLD guidelines are a tool that can help decide the best therapy for patients with COPD, according to Alan Dow, MD, MSHA, a general internist at Virginia Commonwealth University and member of the ACP Internal Medicine Meeting planning committee.
These guidelines divide patients into four groups based on several factors, he told Healio Family Medicine.
“You can put your patient’s [information] into a two-by-two table. On the x-axis is the level of symptoms that they have and on the y-axis is the severity of exacerbations. This should really drive therapy whether it be short-acting or long acting,” Dow said.
Dow moderated a panel that also provided updates for internists and primary care physicians on substance abuse and psychiatry.
Disclosure: Dow reports no relevant financial disclosures.