Heffner John E, Highland Kristin B
Pulmonary Divison, 812 CSB, Medical University of South Carolina, 96 Jonathan Lucas Street, P.O. Box 250623, Charleston, SC 29425, USA.
Crit Care Clin. 2003 Oct;19(4):713-27. doi: 10.1016/s0749-0704(03)00054-x.
COPD is a progressive disorder that is punctuated in its later stages with acute exacerbations that present a risk for respiratory failure. COPD has a disproportionate impact on older patients. In the ICU, therapy is directed toward unloading fatigued respiratory muscles, treating airway infection, and prescribing bronchodilatory drugs. Most patients survive hospitalization in the ICU for an episode of respiratory failure. The severity of the underlying lung disease, however, underlies the poor outcomes of patients in terms of postdischarge survival and quality of life.
慢性阻塞性肺疾病（COPD）是一种进行性疾病，在其后期会出现急性加重，从而带来呼吸衰竭的风险。COPD对老年患者的影响尤为严重。在重症监护病房（ICU），治疗旨在减轻疲劳的呼吸肌负担、治疗气道感染并开具支气管扩张药物。大多数患者在ICU因呼吸衰竭发作住院后存活下来。然而，潜在肺部疾病的严重程度是患者出院后生存率和生活质量较差的根本原因。
