COPD
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Although the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services oxygen prescription guidelines utilize a threshold arterial oxygen tension
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Historically, spirometry has been the objective measure used to confirm a symptom-based clinical suspicion of COPD. The third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) created a strong rationale for early identification and intervention in COPD by documenting the ability of spirometry to detect mild airflow problems in many asymptomatic smokers. Predicted values for spirometry, however, must be adjusted to account for variations in age, gender, height, ethnicity and race. ⋯ Despite the shortcomings of established diagnostic predicted values, spirometry remains the best available tool for early and accurate diagnosis of COPD in those at risk for the disease, and is also useful in conjunction with other modalities in patients with established disease to determine prognosis and assessing therapeutic benefits. In the clinical trial settings, as well as in day-to-day practice, spirometry results should be combined with other endpoints in order to better reflect overall patient status. This review highlights key medical evidence surrounding both usefulness and limitations of FEV(1) in the setting of COPD.
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Palliative care services for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have been limited in most health care schemes despite the significant impact its symptoms can have on quality of life (QOL). Palliative care must be integrated to address physical and emotional distress and QOL deterioration more effectively. Multi-factorial barriers in current health care systems impede the provision of palliative care, including the lack of familiarity among health care professionals. ⋯ We suggest a scheme for identifying COPD patients for palliative care and for delivering simultaneous disease-directed care to help patients live life to the fullest. Pulmonary rehabilitation offers the best venue for incorporating palliative care. We review the need for, barriers to, and key activities for integrating palliative care into the current health care management of patients living with COPD.
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Review Historical Article
COPD as a lung disease with systemic consequences--clinical impact, mechanisms, and potential for early intervention.
The natural course of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is complicated by the development of systemic consequences and co-morbidities. These may be major features in the clinical presentation of COPD, prompting increasing interest. Systemic consequences may be defined as non-pulmonary manifestations of COPD with an immediate cause-and-effect relationship, whereas co-morbidities are diseases associated with COPD. ⋯ Importantly, although the prevalence of systemic consequences increases with increasing severity of airflow obstruction, both systemic consequences and co-morbidities are already present in the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease Stage II. This supports the concept of early intervention in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Although at present early intervention studies in COPD are lacking, circumstantial evidence suggests that current treatments may influence events leading to the systemic consequences and co-morbidities, and thus may affect the clinical manifestations of the disease.
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Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a highly prevalent airway disease characterized by an abnormal inflammatory response of the lungs to noxious particles and gases. Cigarette smoking remains a major risk factor in COPD development. Accumulating evidence suggests that apoptosis, a regulated form of cell death, may play an important role in COPD pathogenesis. ⋯ Given that cigarette smoking is the most common cause of COPD, identification of the pathways of cigarette smoke-induced apoptosis may further the understanding of COPD pathogenesis. However, apoptosis rate is not diminished after cessation of cigarette smoking, indicating that other mechanisms perpetuate apoptosis in COPD. Therefore, understanding functional relationships between apoptosis and protease/antiprotease imbalance, inflammation, oxidative stress and other factors potentially involved in COPD pathogenesis may uncover crucial therapeutic targets.