Answer 11: Therapeutic considerations when treating AECB

20 June, 2018

 

 

One therapeutic consideration in AECB treatment is whether a patient should be treated as an outpatient or admitted to the hospital. Another decision that must be made is whether the patient should receive corticosteroid treatment, and there is sufficient evidence to suggest that a two-week systemic steroid treatment in AECB is superior to placebo (26). The choice of a specific antibiotic should be based on additional chronic underlying diseases, antibiotic treatment in the last three months, hospitalization, living in nursing-homes, pre-vaccination, severity of the disease, etc., and each of these situations requires tailored treatment. Antibiotic treatment should be streamlined according to the GOLD severity stratifications and the appropriate treatment guidelines.