[Clinical phenotypes of COPD]

Abstract

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a complex, multifaceted disease. The clinical presentation is highly heterogeneous and consequently, within what is known today as COPD, there may be some groups (phenotypes) of patients who share clinical and/or biological characteristics but who have distinct prognoses and/or who require different therapeutic approaches. In its broadest sense, phenotype is defined as any observable characteristic in the body, but "clinical phenotype" is defined as a characteristic or set of characteristics of a disease that can be used to distinguish individuals with COPD and are related to significant clinical outcomes, such as symptoms, exacerbations, treatment response, disease progression or death. The present article reviews current knowledge of this topic.