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Methods
The Patients
The Serbian registry of patients with COPD (further: the Registry) was established in 2016 at University of Kragujevac, Faculty of Medical Sciences, based on an online platform. The Registry was open for patients from Serbia, provided that pulmonologists who treat them enter the data. The structure, variables and format of the Registry were decided by a steering committee composed of five pulmonologists. Entry in the Registry was allowed for patients who were diagnosed with COPD according to the following criteria: symptoms of dyspnea, chronic cough or sputum production, history of risk factors for COPD (particularly tobacco smoking, biomass smoke exposure, and exposure at workplace to dust, noxious fumes and vapors)