Editorial from Guest Editor [Hot Topic: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) (Guest Editor: Giorgio Scano)]

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a very common disease which causes considerable morbidity and mortality. It presents major challenges to the international medical community so that clinicians and scientists need to maintain continuous interest in the progress being made in overcoming this problem. While to summarize the major challenges is not possible in this single issue, we wish to contribute to keeping pneumologists abreast of a least part of the considerable progress that has been made in recent years in the understanding of diagnosis, therapeutic management and comprehensive pulmonary rehabilitation programs of COPD. The present issue reviews some recent progress. Twelve distinguished European and other experts present the best of their own work and review the present knowledge regarding COPD in the present issue. The integrated approach presented in this text “is designed to explain and inform, and, in fact, to inspire those who wish to serve dyspneic patients better than ever before”. I wish to thank all authors for their willingness to contribute to this issue. Their expertise has allowed the publication of this update on current concepts relating to the evaluation and care of patients with COPD. A final word of cordial thanks to Current Respiratory Medicine Reviews for publishing this special issue. I am confident that the readers will appreciate the efforts of those involved in this undertaking.