NAPLEX (North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination) Practice Exam

For COPD patients with 0-1 exacerbations and a CAT score <10, the initial pharmacologic therapy would be a bronchodilator. This is because these patients are considered to have a low risk of exacerbations and a low symptom burden, so they do not require more intensive treatment such as combination therapy with a corticosteroid (ICS) or multiple bronchodilators (LAMA + LABA or LAMA alone). While these options may also be appropriate for some patients, they are not the recommended first-line therapy for this particular group of COPD patients.