[The course of treated chronic obstructive lung disease].

Retrospective analysis of the influence of therapy on the course of chronic obstructive lung disease in 71 patients over 3 years showed that cessation of smoking, long-term therapy with corticosteroids and IPPB-therapy did not significantly alter the functional deterioration. The average annual FEV decline of 68 ml ((initial FEV 1.28 +/- 0.661) is comparable with the results of other authors. The importance of controlled, prospective therapeutic trials is stressed.