The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) announces the availability of a summary of an evidence report on the management of acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD.)

The report was developed by the Duke University Evidence-based Practice Center under contract to AHRQ. Researchers assessed the evidence currently available on diagnosis, prognosis and management of acute exacerbations of COPD. The report concentrates on the care of patients in outpatient and inpatient settings and shows that the current therapies benefit some patients. The evidence suggests that patients with acute exacerbation of COPD respond differently to certain treatments including corticosteriods and brochodilators than patients with respiratory distress due to other causes such as asthma.

This report is the basis for a clinical practice guideline developed by the American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine and the American College of Chest Physicians. It will be published in CHEST and Annals of Internal Medicine sometime in the winter of 2001.