Anatom3DCOPD
Morbus pulmonum obstructivus chronicus · CHOPN (chronická obstrukční plicní nemoc)
What it is
Smoke destroys alveoli and scars airways; the damage does not reverse.
Symptoms & signs
- Daily cough with phlegm
- breathlessness that worsens over years
- wheeze
- frequent chest infections
- barrel chest
🚩 Get help if…
- call 112 / 911 now Breathless at rest, or can't finish a sentence
- call 112 / 911 now Blue lips, confusion or unusual drowsiness
- see a doctor soon More phlegm that is green or yellow, with fever
- see a doctor soon Swollen ankles, or breathlessness worse than usual for 2 days
Where it strikes
Medical treatment
- Triple inhaler (LAMA+LABA+ICS)
- pulmonary rehabilitation
- oxygen if hypoxic
- azithromycin prophylaxis
- lung volume reduction
- transplant
- endobronchial valves (Zephyr) — FDA-approved 2018 for severe emphysema; a collapsed lung is the main early risk
- dupilumab for COPD with raised eosinophils — approved 2024 (EMA, FDA)
Natural & lifestyle
- Stopping smoking is the only thing that changes the slope
- pulmonary rehab exercise
- flu/pneumococcal/COVID vaccines
- breathing techniques
- nutrition
Emerging & experimental
- Alpha-1 antitrypsin augmentation
- stem-cell and regenerative trials
Alternative, off-label & anecdotal
Approaches used outside the guidelines, with what their supporters report and what testing has found so far.
- High-dose N-acetylcysteine (600 mg twice daily) — the PANTHEON trial found about a fifth fewer flare-ups; Western guidelines use it only for some mixed evidence
- Vitamin D — fewer flare-ups only in people who were clearly deficient mixed evidence
- Singing for lung health and harmonica playing — small trials show better quality of life and breath control early / small studies
- Ivy leaf extract as an expectorant — small trials, widely sold in Central Europe early / small studies
- Salt rooms and halotherapy — pleasant, untested anecdotal / traditional
ICD codes
- ICD-10 J44.9
- ICD-11 CA22.Z Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, unspecified