The respiratory physiome: Clustering based on a comprehensive lung function assessment in patients with COPD

Background While spirometry and particularly airflow limitation is still considered as an important tool in therapeutic decision making, it poorly reflects the heterogeneity of respiratory impairment in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The aims of this study were to identify pathophysiological clusters in COPD based on an integrated set of standard lung function attributes and to investigate whether these clusters can predict patient-related outcomes and differ in clinical characteristics.