Pulmonary Dysfunction in COPD
1Department of Pulmonary Medicine, University Hospital of Patras, University of Patras, Rio, 26500 Patras, Greece
2Department of Respiratory Medicine, “Sotiria” Hospital for Diseases of the Chest, University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece
3Istituto di Fisiologia Umana I, Università di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy
Pulmonary Dysfunction in COPD
Description
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality all around the world. It has been identified as the fourth leading cause, which will rise globally to the third place, before the end of 2020. It is estimated that more than 12 million adults suffer from COPD in the USA and 24 million patients have an impaired lung function, which may lead to the development of COPD. Tobacco smoke is the predominant but not the only environmental risk factor for COPD. COPD is a burden for health-providing systems as the estimated direct and indirect cost is constantly raising.
We particularly take an interest in manuscripts that report the impact of COPD on exercise tolerance and physical activity, rehabilitation techniques, and lung function status. Reviews that summarize our current knowledge and demonstrate future perspectives on lung mechanics in COPD patients using standard or novel diagnostic and therapeutic techniques are welcome. Moreover, papers dealing with the pathogenesis of lung dysfunction in COPD as well as criteria for specialized support of nutrition that is essential in special groups of patients (specificity, sensitivity, reproducibility, robustness, objective read-out) would be of great interest. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:
- Exercise intolerance in COPD
- OSAS in COPD patients (overlap syndrome)
- Pulmonary hypertension secondary to COPD
- Rehabilitation and special nutrition
- Nutritional status
- Lung hyperinflation
- Lung dynamics in COPD
Before submission authors should carefully read over the journal's Author Guidelines, which are located at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/pm/guidelines/. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/ according to the following timetable: