Figure 6.

Total number of pulmonary exacerbations per month in the 19 patients in Ireland receiving AAT augmentation therapy for AAT deficiency–associated emphysema during the year before the study (black line) and during the withdrawal period (red line), as reported in the original article. Reproduced with permission from Reference [54]. On the right, we have added (dashed line) two possible hypothetical changes that the curve could have had if the patients had been followed longer, with two possibilities: curve A, with a persistent increase of exacerbations risk, and curve B, with a transient increase in the exacerbation risk. COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.