Contents Preface ix Guest Editors xiii Introduction xvii List of abbreviations xx Definition, severity and impact of pulmonary exacerbations 1. Asthma 1 Luca Morandi, Federico Bellini and Alberto Papi 2. COPD 13 Sami O. Simons and John R. Hurst 3. Cystic fibrosis 25 Patrick A. Flume and Donald R. VanDevanter 4. Non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis 38 Simon Finch, Alison J. Dicker and James D. Chalmers 5. IPF 58 Kiminobu Tanizawa, Harold R. Collard and Christopher J. Ryerson Triggers of pulmonary exacerbations 6. Chemical air pollution and allergen exposure 66 Isabella Annesi-Maesano 7. Viral infection 76 Andrew I. Ritchie, Patrick Mallia and Sebastian L. Johnston 8. Bacterial infection 97 Karin A. Provost, Carla A. Frederick and Sanjay Sethi 9. Differential diagnosis and impact of cardiovascular comorbidities 114 and pulmonary embolism during COPD exacerbations Frits M.E. Franssen and Lowie E.G.W. Vanfleteren ERS monograph Acute Exacerbations of Pulmonary Diseases Number 77 September 2017