An updated review suggests that a shorter duration of corticosteroid treatment for COPD patients may be as effective as long-term therapy.
The authors conclude that for adult COPD patients with acute exacerbations, 5 days of oral corticosteroids may be sufficient for treatment and that the likelihood of shorter corticosteroid courses leading to worse outcomes is low. Since the study did not include patients with mild or moderate disease, more research will need to be done to see how short-duration treatment compares to longer-duration treatment in this patient population.
