Volume 1, Number 2, March 2007

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TOPICEDITORIALEditorial
Jan Procter-King

You may have thought you were safe from dire warnings about global warming in the pages of BJPCN. But hayfever is one of the themes of this issue and the mild winter has meant that some people suffered symptoms much earlier than usual as pollens which can trigger allergic reactions were found in the air as early as January.

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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 the Education for Health

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TOPICNEWSNews from General Practice Airways Group (GPIAG)

DISEASE FOCUSReducing Hayfever Havoc: Keeping Symptoms at Bay
Samantha Walker

Hayfever affects around one in ten adults, and an even higher proportion of children and teenagers. Chronic symptoms may lead to poor concentration, impaired learning ability and school absenteeism in children, amongst other problems. In the run-up to the hayfever season, therefore, it is important to identify teenagers or young adults with persistent or severe hayfever symptoms and to treat their symptoms aggressively to prevent poor performance at school and in examinations. Given that approximately 80% of patients with asthma also have rhinitis, asking your asthma patients about their possible hayfever symptoms is a good starting point.

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TOPICBACK TO BASICSDrugs for Asthma: Where and How do they Work?
Trisha Weller

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TOPICPREVENTION IN PRACTICEThunderstorm Asthma
Dr Mark L Levy, Clare Bryden

On 23 June 2005, the Met Office issued a warning that severe thunderstorms were likely to hit the South East of England in the next 24 hours. On the evening of Friday 24 June, primary care out-of-hours services and hospital accident and emergency departments in Northwest London were inundated by patients attending with acute asthma. The scale of these attendances – eight times more patients than usual in one hospital – meant that departments had to call in additional staff and some ran out of emergency supplies of bronchodilators, nebulisers and oral steroids for treating asthma. In this article, we will explain the background and some of the theories related to this type of epidemic of acute asthma – Thunderstorm Asthma.

POINTS MEAN PRIZESScoring Top Marks for Asthma QOF Indicators
Mandy Walsh

Asthma is a chronic disease that has, for a long time, been the domain of primary care nurses, and many have qualifications enabling them to run nurse-led asthma clinics. It is, therefore, essential to fully understand the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) and to be able to maximise the points available to the practice, at the same time as providing a comprehensive service to patients. In this article, we review the QOF indicators for asthma, strategies for optimising record keeping and performing asthma reviews.

THERAPEUTICS REVEWOxygen Therapy for COPD: How to use it Safely
Rachel Booker

Oxygen therapy for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has recently been hitting the headlines, because major changes in its supply – using independent contractors – introduced last year initially caused problems in some areas. In this article, we review why some patients with COPD need oxygen therapy, when it should be used and how to use it safely.

PATIENTS AS PARTNERSMultimedia Tools to help Smokers who want to Quit
Chris Walmsley

This year there is more reason than ever for people to stop smoking, with the ban on smoking in public places coming into force in July. How can we support smokers who want to quit? In this article, we provide a comprehensive guide to resources that can help.

DIAGNOSISPiecing Together the Clues: Diagnosing Asthma in Adults and Older Children
Jane Leyshon

Accurate diagnosis is the fundamental principle underlying effective management of any condition. Without a correct diagnosis it is not possible to recommend appropriate treatments, provide relevant educational information or to establish effective collaborative partnerships between health professionals and patients. In this article, we provide a ‘how to’ guide to diagnosing asthma. Like a detective, you have to piece together the clues – including history, lung function and response to treatment – to solve the diagnosis.

HAVE YOU HEARD?Have you Heard?