[Determination of clinical phenotypes of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease--a new treatment approach].

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a syndrome including a group of obstructive diseases showing both similar features and marked differences. At present, clinicians try to describe various COPD phenotypes reflecting different characteristics of the patients which can be useful in respect of COPD course, prognosis and effective treatment. The article is devoted to approaches to COPD phenotypes definition, gives descriptions of some possible phenotypes and analyses clinical trials of modern COPD treatment modalities in different phenotypes.