LAUSR

Topic: The new revision of GOLD from 2017 year excluded spirometry as a classification tool for COPD patients. How this changed the exacerbation and mortality risk estimation is understudied. Aim: To study the effect of the GOLD 2017 revision on exacerbation and mortality risk compared to GOLD 2011 classification. Methods: We followed prospectively 465 COPD patients for exacerbations and death during a 3 year period. We classified the patients in ABCD groups according to GOLD from 2011 and 2017. Result: When we classified ABCD groups according to GOLD 2017 we found more low risk patients compared to GOLD 2011 (72.26% vs. 46.83% p Conclusions: The GOLD 2017 classification resulted in a significant movement of patients from high risk groups C and D to low risk groups A and B. This led to a better selection of high exacerbation risk patients in group D who also had a higher CVD rate. There was no significant additional increase in exacerbations and mortality for low risk groups A and B.