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Observational study examines airway mucus plugs in non-asthmatic former smokers, indicating a link to COPD outcomes.
Extract Airway mucus plugs are increasingly considered key pathology in smokers and patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Mucus plugs on computed tomography (CT) are associated with lower forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), exacerbations, health-related independence loss, and mortality in patients with COPD [1–3]. Understanding mucus plugging factors is needed to establish it as a treatable trait in smokers without asthma.
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Tanabe et al. (2026) studied this question.
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