Presents just like Asthma, in a smoker or farmer.
Suspect if Hx of “COPD”: Daily cough for >3 months, >2 years in a row.
Sputum is chronically white, but sometimes purulent during exacerbations.
Right-heart failure (Cor pulmonale) is worst complication, termed “blue-bloater” when pt. edematous & cyanotic.
PFTs show reversibility after albuterol. But mainstay of treatment uses anti-cholinergic inhalers, different from asthma, so important to distinguish by history.
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