Former smokers with COPD may be more susceptible to inflammatory responses to short-term exposure to moderate concentrations of diesel exhaust than former smokers without COPD or healthy never smokers, researchers reported.
“To date, it is unclear whether or not short-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution, as is typically found in congested urban areas, elicits a distinct inflammatory response in the lower respiratory tract of COPD patients; no study has directly samples bronchoalveolar lavage in those with COPD in this context nor whether such responses are different from those