December 30, 2025
3 min read
Healio Pulmonology has compiled the top news on COPD posted in 2025.
Readers were most interested in how pulmonary rehabilitation referrals and discharge disposition differ with vs. without use of an inpatient COPD clinical pathway embedded directly into the electronic health record.
Use of a COPD care pathway heightened the odds for a pulmonary rehabilitation referral and home discharge in hospitalized adults, according to study results. Image: Adobe Stock
A story on the risk for incident, nonfatal hospitalized cardiovascular events after a COPD exacerbation was the second most-read story.
Here are Healio’s top 10 most-read stories on COPD from 2025.
COPD care pathway use raises odds for pulmonary rehabilitation referral, home discharge
Valerie Press
Use of a COPD care pathway heightened the odds for a pulmonary rehabilitation referral and home discharge in hospitalized adults, according to results published in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases: Journal of the COPD Foundation. Also, Valerie Press, MD, MPH, professor of medicine and pediatrics, executive medical director of specialty value based care, and medical director of the care transitions clinic at The University of Chicago Bucksbaum-Siegler Institute for Clinical Excellence, shares her Perspective. Read more.
Risk for cardiovascular events stays high 1 year after COPD exacerbation
Among patients with COPD who experienced an exacerbation, the risk for cardiovascular events was highest in the following 2 weeks and stayed elevated more than 1 year after, according to study results published in American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. Read more.
Using inhaled corticosteroids for 24-plus months ups diabetes, osteoporosis risk in COPD
Adults with COPD who used inhaled corticosteroids for more than 24 months faced higher risks for diabetes, osteoporosis, pneumonia, cataracts and fractures than those with less than 4 months’ use, according to data published in Annals of Family Medicine. Read more.
2026 GOLD report addresses disease activity, technology, exacerbations in COPD
To keep up with COPD research and care developments, the 2026 Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease report features two new sections/chapters, two completely revised chapters and several updated sections. Read more.
Q&A: Lung inflammation decreases with form of vitamin B3 in COPD
Morten Scheibye-Knudsen
Among patients with COPD, those receiving 6-week nicotinamide riboside, “a B3-like vitamin,” had significantly decreased lung inflammation, according to results published in Nature Aging. Healio spoke with study author Morten Scheibye-Knudsen, MD, PhD, associate professor at the Center for Healthy Aging in the department of cellular and molecular medicine at the University of Copenhagen, to learn more about the study, nicotinamide riboside and what is needed in future research. Read more.
Ensifentrine improves dyspnea, symptoms, quality of life in COPD without exacerbations
Dyspnea and quality of life improved with receipt of ensifentrine in a subgroup of adults with moderate to severe COPD without an exacerbation during the trial period, according to data presented at the CHEST Annual Meeting. Read more.
Tool determines likelihood for mucus plugs in patients with COPD
David Mannino
Among adults with COPD, the likelihood for having mucus plugs on CT can be determined using a tool that considers 11 “readily available” factors, according to results published in American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. Also, David Mannino, MD, FCCP, FERS, chief medical officer and co-founder of the COPD Foundation, shares his Perspective. Read more.
COPD before 50 years raises risk for premature death
Individuals aged younger than 50 years with COPD faced an elevated risk for premature death and incident hospitalization/death due to chronic lower respiratory disease or heart failure, according to results published in NEJM Evidence. Also, Mannino shares his Perspective. Read more.
Women face elevated risk for COPD regardless of cigarette smoking status
Jamie L. Garfield
The risk for COPD was heightened among women vs. men who ever smoked, and this was also true among women vs. men who never smoked, according to results published in BMJ Open Respiratory Research. Also, Jamie L. Garfield, MD, professor of thoracic medicine and surgery at the Temple Lung Center at Temple University Hospital, clinical course director at Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University and national medical spokesperson for the American Lung Association, shares her Perspective. Read more.
Odds for poor outcomes high with endobronchial valve vs. lung volume reduction surgery
Medicare beneficiaries with emphysema who received an endobronchial valve vs. lung volume reduction surgery faced elevated risk-adjusted odds for poor outcomes, according to data presented at the Society of Thoracic Surgeons Annual Meeting. Read more.
Perspective
Overall, I would agree these were impactful stories. I think the real theme of this year has been building momentum. It was perhaps not quite as exciting as 2024’s multiple new drug approvals, but we did still have Nucala, and it’s clear that attention to COPD is growing again.
A couple of other points stand out.
The paper on the risk for cardiovascular events lends even more support to the idea that preventing acute exacerbations of COPD is essential to longer-term survival. It brings us one step closer to treating “lung attacks” with the urgency we treat heart attacks and “brain attacks” (stroke). The next trick will be to develop better indicators for a true exacerbation (not just a bad symptom day) so that we can detect them faster and treat them sooner.
The papers on COPD before 50 and women’s risk point out the changing face of COPD, or at least the perceptions. These papers highlight the importance of raising awareness about the condition and not just focusing on smoking as a risk factor. The seeds of COPD are often planted in childhood, and establishing lung health as an essential part of lifelong primary care is critical to finding at-risk people sooner and slowing potential disease progression.
Near and dear to my respiratory therapy heart is the pulmonary rehab paper. We have, for many years, understood the impact and importance of pulmonary rehab, but we have not made much progress in making sure people have access to the service. We would never dream of telling someone to skip out on their cardiac rehab after a cardiac event. But once again, the lungs get overlooked, and pulmonary rehab uptake is in the single digit percentages. Integrating referrals into the discharge process is a step in the right direction. We can build on that by better supporting both virtual and brick-and-mortar programs as well as strengthening care navigator networks.
Finally, the big surprise of the year would be that endobronchial valve (EBV) paper. On the face of things, it doesn’t make a lot of sense that a minimally invasive procedure is actually riskier than a full-on surgical intervention, yet that’s what the data seemed to show. We’ve known for a long time that patient selection is key to improving outcomes and that not everyone is a candidate for EBV placement because of their physiology, but are we missing other factors? Is it that modern video-assisted/robotic techniques have changed the game that much? Is it the particular mix of patients in this cohort? The follow up will be interesting.
Mike Hess, MPH, RRT, RPFT
Disclosures: Hess reports no relevant financial disclosures.
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