Contemporary opinions on administration of inhaled glucocorticosteroids in the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The contemporary medicine is looking for new, more effective methods of treatment for patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), whose number is systematically increasing. It seems that main challenges involve improving treatment efficiency, preventing exacerbations and inhibiting the progression of the disease. The aim of this paper is to briefly present the contemporary knowledge of the application of inhaled glucocorticosteroid in COPD treatment, their effectiveness and side-effects. According to the present state of knowledge, inhaled glucocorticosteroid do not inhibit the neutrophil inflammation in COPD. However, they significantly restrict the inflammatory response in severe forms of the disease, which, practically, means decrease of exacerbation frequency, life quality improvement and mortality reduction in these patients. Inhaled glucocorticosteroids, just like systemic glucocorticosteroids, do have many side-effects, but they can be effectively prevented.