COPD has huge economic and human burdens in the US. In fact, in 2010, two studies estimated that COPD exacted a direct and indirect cost of somewhere between $36 and $50 billion dollars in the US. With respect to the ED – in 2011, there were more than 1.7 million ED visits for COPD-related problems, with nearly 1/5th requiring hospitalization.
 
This episode of EB Medicine’s EMplify podcast is hosted by Jeff Nusbaum, MD, and Nachi Gupta, MD. This month’s corresponding full-length journal issue of Emergency Medicine Practice was authored by a strong team from the University of Maryland: Drs. Van Holden, Donald Slack, Michael McCurdy, and Nirav Shah. It was peer reviewed by Dr. Gabriel Wardi of the University of California San Diego and Dr. Geralda Xavier of Kings County Hospital in New York City.
Links and Resouces:
http://www.ebmedicine.net/topics.php?paction=showTopic&topic_id=557 - Diagnosis and Management of Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease