DuoNeb
What is COPD?
Diagnosing COPD
Degrees of COPD
Do I Have COPD?
Treatment Options
The DuoNeb Advantage
Living Better with COPD
Resources
COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) is a condition that makes it harder for people to breathe. It includes 2 different diseases: chronic bronchitis and emphysema. To understand what happens in COPD, let’s look at how the lungs work.
How the lungs work
The lungs add oxygen(O2) to the blood and allow carbon dioxide(CO2) to get out when you exhale. When we breathe in, air goes down the windpipe into the lungs. Passageways, called bronchial tubes or airways, carry the air to all parts of the lungs.
As they branch out, the bronchial tubes get smaller and smaller. They end in groups of tiny air sacs, called alveoli. Oxygen passes through the thin walls of the alveoli into the blood. CO2 passes from the blood back into the lungs to be exhaled.
Chronic Bronchitis
Chronic bronchitis is an inflammation of the airways. It develops slowly over the years. After a while, the bronchial tubes become scarred and thickened. A thick mucous is produced. This makes it harder to get air into the lungs.
Emphysema
In emphysema, the walls of the alveoli no longer stretch easily. As they become more brittle, the walls of the alveoli break down and the alveoli become enlarged. The enlarged alveoli trap the air, making it more difficult to breathe out.
Most COPD patients have both emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Tobacco Information and Prevention Source (TIPS). Tobacco Use in the United States. January 27, 2004.
2. Thomas L. Petty, MD and Dennis E. Doherty, MD. Save Your Breath, America! Prevent Emphysema Now! Advice for Patients Who May be Developing Emphysema or Chronic Bronchitis.
Available at:http://www.nlhep.org/resources/saveYourBreath.htm. Accessed June 15, 2005.
What Causes COPD?
Smoking accounts for 80-90% of all COPD cases.1 Cigarettes are the primary culprit—and most COPD patients have smoked a pack of cigarettes a day for 10 years or more. But cigar and pipe smokers are also at risk.

Exposure to passive smoke, air pollution, and chemicals in the workplace or environ- ment can also cause COPD.
Who has COPD?
A very large group of people just like you. COPD affects an estimated 32 million Americans, but has only been “diagnosed” in about half of those who actually have COPD, largely due to a lack of awareness.2 In the last few decades, more and more women have joined that community because more women are now smoking.

Most people are diagnosed with COPD when they are 45 years old or older—even if signs and symptoms have been there years earlier.
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Please read this important safety information about DuoNeb®
DuoNeb® is indicated for the treatment of bronchospasm associated with COPD for patients requiring more than one bronchodilator. In a 12-week clinical study, the most common adverse reactions reported with DuoNeb® Inhalation Solution were chest pain, pharyngitis, diarrhea, bronchitis, nausea, and leg cramps.
Albuterol sulfate can have a significant cardiovascular effect, significant hypokalemia, and the potential life-threatening paradoxical bronchospasm. Caution is advised in patients with convulsive disorders, hyperthyroidism, diabetes mellitus, narrow-angle glaucoma, prostatic hypertrophy, or bladder-neck obstruction. Co-administration of DuoNeb® Inhalation Solution and other sympathomimetic agents may increase the risk of adverse cardiovascular effects.