DefinePK

Abstract

Compared with the situation a decade or so ago, the treatment of chronicobstructive pulmonary disease, of which emphysema is a component, hasprogressed considerably, in great part because of a surge in research interest, abetter understanding of the disease, and the development of newpharmacological interventions. In this area of health care, as in many if not inall areas, today’s medical and surgical communities most often base theirpractice on what is known as evidence-based medicine. Evidence is derivedfrom clinical research outcomes, and primarily from original clinical trials andsystematic reviews of the literature.