Impact of Aerobika OPEP in Improving Small Airway Parameters in COPD

Research Background Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive chronic lung disease that makes breathing difficult with mucus build-up in the inflamed airway and lungs hyperinflation due to expiratory flow limitation. Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) defines COPD as a common, preventable and treatable disease with significant morbidity and mortality, and incurs intensive expenditure of healthcare resources. This disease is currently the fourth leading cause of death in the world but is projected to be the 3rd leading cause of death by 2020. In 2012, global death from COPD accounted about 6% which equal to more than 3 million deaths in world population. The mortality burden of COPD is expected to rise to 8.6% by 2030. In Malaysia, the prevalence of moderate to severe COPD in Malaysia in 2010 is 4.7% which equals to 448,000 cases. COPD is attributed by long-term exposure to noxious particles and toxic gases. Tobacco smoking is the main cause of COPD globally. The Third National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS III) conducted in Malaysia in 2006 showed that the prevalence of male ever smokers was 57.6% and in female is 2.5%. Other than that, inhalation of organic or chemical dust and fumes, and biomass exposure also among the risk factors of COPD. Exposure to noxious particles will cause activation of inflammatory immune responses. However, continuous and repetitive exposure towards these noxious particles will lead to tissue remodelling in small airways causing smooth muscle hypertrophy and fibrosis causing major site of obstruction in COPD. In COPD patients, the small airways represent the key sites of airflow obstruction, and small airway disease (SAD) is considered a functional hallmark of disease. The presence of SAD progressively increases with higher GOLD classifications and it is closely related to the high impact of disease measured by COPD Assessment Test (CAT) questionnaire. Distributions of SAD among COPD p