COPD
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Health status improvement is a critical treatment goal for physicians managing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Numerous instruments to measure the disease-specific health-related quality of life (HRQOL) for patients with COPD have been used in daily clinical practice. The Clinical COPD Questionnaire (CCQ) is one of these recommended by the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD). ⋯ CFA confirmed the construct validity, with a good model fit. Good to excellent psychometric properties of the Chinese Version CCQ were demonstrated in the study. Wide usage of the Chinese Version CCQ for Taiwanese COPD patients can be recommended in daily clinical practice or clinical trials.
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Chronic therapy with long-acting bronchodilators (LB) is recommended to treat moderate-to-severe COPD. Although the benefits of adding inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) to LB are still unclear, patients who experience repeated exacerbations are suggested to add ICS to their LB treatment. The objective of this study is to analyze whether adding ICS to LB therapy reduces mortality. ⋯ Our findings showed a beneficial effect on mortality of adding inhaled corticosteroids to long-acting bronchodilators. The advantage was much more pronounced in patients with frequent exacerbations.