Table 7:

Established non-pharmacological treatments for COPD

	Comments
Smoking cessation	Combined counselling and pharmacotherapy are required to optimise quitting success; pharmacotherapies have differing mechanisms of action
Pulmonary rehabilitation	Improves respiratory and other muscle strength, cardiovascular function, mental health, self-efficacy, and adherence to improvements in physical activity and overall quality of life
Endobronchial valves	One-way valves placed in a target lobe that cause lung deflation, improving mechanics of breathing and expiratory airflow
Lung volume reduction surgery	Resection of emphysematous lung reduces overall lung and thoracic volume, improving mechanics of breathing and expiratory airflow
Non-invasive ventilation	Reduces the work of breathing, allowing a larger tidal volume for a given respiratory effort, which improves alveolar ventilation
Oxygen supplementation	Ameliorates tissue hypoxia by increasing blood oxygen saturation, thereby improving exercise tolerance
Targeted lung denervation	Selective denervation of cholinergic nerves surrounding the main bronchi by targeted administration of radiofrequency waves via bronchoscopy resulting in bronchodilation and reduced mucus secretion
Lung transplantation	<5000 procedures annually worldwide; new transplantation guidelines do not favour patients with COPD

COPD=chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.