Researchers from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), Beaumont Hospital and Trinity College Dublin have conducted a study which has found that Ireland has one of the highest incidences in the world of a genetic condition that causes severe hereditary emphysema.
Asthma – cutting costs and improving outcomes
Study raises concerns about PE over-diagnosis
Preventing and treating COPD
Dr Ross Morgan outlines the different grading systems in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and the various treatment methods tailored for different patient types. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive condition that is almost entirely preventable. It is increasingly recognised that there are significant extra-pulmonary effects that contribute to morbidity in the COPD patient. [...]
Prescribing the right balance of combination therapies
Dr Reggie Spelman looks at the latest studies and international best-practice guidelines for prescribing combination therapies Combination therapies comprise an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) and a long-acting β agonist (LABA), providing a dual anti-inflammatory and bronchodilator action. According to the British Thoracic Society (BTS) asthma guidelines, LABAs are the first choice of add-on therapy to inhaled [...]
Children in large crèches have fewer infections in school years
Children who attend large crèches before the age of two-and-a-half years appear to develop more respiratory and ear infections at that age, but fewer such illnesses during primary-school years, according to a new report from Canada. The report followed a study of 1,238 families with newborns in 1998. Mothers reported whether their children went to [...]
New plan to cut hospital admissions
The HSE’s Clinical Lead for COPD, Dr Tim McDonnell, tells Gary Culliton about the COPD programme’s aim to cut hospital admissions and make spirometry more widely available to GPs throughout the country Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an increasing problem that has not been managed well, according to the HSE’s COPD Clinical Lead, Dr [...]
World COPD Day urges disease awareness
This year’s World COPD Day focuses on increasing awareness of spirometry as a simple and painless way to determine lung health World COPD Day is a global effort to boost people’s understanding of COPD and advocate for better care for patients. The aim of the awareness day this year, which falls on November 17, is [...]
Early treatment linked to better COPD outcomes
Among patients hospitalised for acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), those who received antibiotics in the first two hospital days had improved outcomes, according to a new American study. In the study, doctors examined the association between the use of antibiotics and outcomes among patients hospitalised for acute exacerbations of COPD at 413 [...]