Roflumilast succeeds where traditional therapy fails: a case report

The case of a 72-year-old man with a long history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD, patient D according to Guidelines GOLD 2013) in a subject professionally exposed to welding fumes is presented. Diagnosis was based on symptoms and spirometry and confirmed by chest X-ray examination. Since 1997 the patient has been under different therapies, including high-dose inhaled corticosteroids and bronchodilators, with poor clinical control and frequent exacerbations. Roflumilast 500 μg once daily was started in January 2012 and patient’s respiratory symptoms, number of exacerbations and spirometry values have gradually improved since then. Roflumilast was an effective treatment in this case of difficult to treat severe COPD.