Volume 1, Number 1, December 2006

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TOPICEDITORIALEditorial
Jan Procter-King

Being able to take a deep breath of fresh air is something that most of us take completely for granted. But for our patients with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), other respiratory diseases such as sleep apnoea, and allergic disorders such as rhinitis, taking a deep breath may not be so easy.

POPULAR
TOPICEVIDENCE IN PRACTICEEvidence in Practice

There are just not enough hours in the day to read all the research journals, even if you wanted to. This section of the BJPCN – Evidence in Practice – will keep you on top of relevant research without having to spend hours in the library. Each journal review gives you a bite-size summary of new research, pulling out key points for primary care and recommending the action that you might consider taking.

NEWSNews from Education for Health

DISEASE FOCUSRhinitis: Successful Diagnosis and Management
Samantha Walker

Runny, blocked noses are a common problem in the winter months, accounting for a substantial number of general practice consultations. Successful treatment depends on identifying the correct cause of the symptoms. In this article we give you key information on rhinitis – what it is, how to diagnose it and how to treat it successfully.

POPULAR
TOPICBACK TO BASICSIs it COPD or asthma?
Shona Shires

To be able to effectively manage patients with airflow obstruction in general practice it is imperative that we can differentiate between asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Although COPD and asthma share many clinical features, they are different conditions with different airway inflammation and parenchymal patterns.

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TOPICPREVENTION IN PRACTICEPreventing and Treating COPD Exacerbations
Shona Shires

Acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are common and have serious implications. They greatly reduce patients’ quality of life and often result in hospital admissions. Acute exacerbations of COPD are the largest single cause of emergency respiratory admissions and each exacerbation results in an average hospital stay of 10.3 days. In this article we review what causes exacerbations in patients with COPD and how you can help to prevent and treat them effectively.

MONITORINGDiagnosing Copd: Putting the Jigsaw Together
Mark Levy

Diagnosing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can be complex and requires considerable clinical skill. It is rather like putting together the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. But don’t despair. In this article, we take you through the key steps. A careful history, particularly in smokers or ex-smokers who complain of breathlessness, followed by clinical examination may indicate possible COPD. Further steps must then be taken to exclude other causes of respiratory symptoms and spirometry is essential in diagnosing airflow obstruction, which may help to confirm the diagnosis of COPD.

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TOPICPOINTS MEAN PRIZESThe Challenges of Scoring QOF Points for Asthma and COPD
Anne McAdam

The Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) is now well into its third year and continues to expand boundaries of quality domains within chronic disease management. In this article we review some of the challenges in QOF indicators for asthma and COPD and suggest some tips to make the requirements easier to achieve in daily clinical practice.

THERAPEUTICS REVEWThe Role of Beta₂ Agonists in Managing Asthma
Bev Cox

Beta₂ agonists are the only class of drugs that is recommended for the management of asthma at every level of current guidelines, including those from the British Thoracic Society (BTS). This means that they are used across the spectrum of severity of asthma, from mild intermittent disease (step one) to severe asthma symptoms (step five). In this article, we take you through the key things that you – and your patients – need to know about these drugs.

PATIENTS AS PARTNERSWhat do Patients Want from Asthma Therapy?
Jane Leyshon

More than half of people with asthma in the UK have inadequate symptom control, despite the range of effective therapies now available. Rather than blaming patients when they fail to take their medications as prescribed, we need to examine the way we conduct asthma consultations and ask whether we are failing to meet the needs of individual patients. How can we gain greater understanding about what people with asthma want from healthcare professionals and treatments, so we can achieve a more patient-centred approach to care?

DID YOU KNOW?Oral Allergy Syndrome
Jan Chantrell

Did you know…. that a large number of your hayfever patients may have a condition known as oral allergy syndrome? In this article we explore what causes oral allergy syndrome, why it occurs, the symptoms that patients may suffer and how to manage the problem.