Spanish COPD Guidelines (GesEPOC 2021): Non-pharmacological Treatment Update

Abstract

In addition to recommendations for pharmacological treatment stratified for risk and phenotype, the new 2021 edition of the Spanish COPD Guidelines (GesEPOC 2021) proposes a personalized approach to treatable traits, defined as a characteristic (clinical, physiological, or biological) that can be identified by diagnostic tests or biomarkers, for which a specific treatment is available. Some treatable traits, such as malnutrition, sedentarism, emphysema or respiratory failure, can be treated with non-pharmacological therapies, and this was not covered in detail in the guidelines. This section of GesEPOC 2021 includes a narrative update with recommendations on dietary treatment, physical activity, respiratory rehabilitation, oxygen therapy, non-invasive ventilation, volume reduction, and lung transplantation. A PICO question with recommendations on the use of supplemental oxygen during exercise in COPD patients without severe hypoxemia is also included.

Keywords: Actividad física; Lung rehabilitation; Lung transplantation; Lung volume reduction; Nutrición; Nutrition; Oxigenoterapia; Oxygen therapy; Physical activity; Reducción de volumen pulmonar; Rehabilitación pulmonar; Trasplante pulmonar.