Volume 2, Number 1, December 2007

EDITORIALEditorial
Jan Procter-King

As we reach the end of the year, BJPCN looks back at the challenges that have been met in the care of patients with respiratory and allergic disease over the past few years and looks forward to the new situations we will have to face in the coming year. I have really enjoyed launching this exciting journal and wish Monica Fletcher, Chief Executive of Education for Health, the very best as she takes on the editor’s role from the next issue.

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 BJPCN – Evidence in Practice – will keep you on top of relevant research without having to spend hours in the library. Each 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.

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TOPICNEWSNews from Education for Health

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TOPICNEWSNews from General Practice Airways Group (GPIAG)

DISEASE FOCUSTuberculosis
Martyn Partridge

Cases of tuberculosis (TB) have been increasing over the past few years, with recent data from the Health Protection Agency showing a rise of 2% from 2005 to 2006 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, following a rise every year since the late 1980s. Although London continues to account for the highest proportion of cases – 42% – there have been outbreaks throughout the country. In this article, we review the cause, pathology, clinical investigations, diagnosis and management of TB.

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TOPICBACK TO BASICSKey Steps in Resuscitation
Laraine Sullivan

PREVENTION IN PRACTICEHow to Treat Winter Coughs and Colds
Bev Cox

The number of respiratory consultations in primary care increases in the winter months. We see more patients with acute exacerbations of their underlying respiratory condition, such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) caused by the cold weather and the increased number of viruses and airborne infections that occur at this time of year. So what advice should we give to patients with cold and flu-type symptoms during the winter? And is the approach we take with respiratory patients in any way different from the approach taken with otherwise healthy individuals?

THERAPEUTICS REVEWBronchodilators in Children with Asthma
Bev Cox

Asthma is a common condition in children, with approximately one in eight youngsters in the UK receiving treatment for asthma at any given time. The British guidelines on the management of asthma have separate pathways for children of different ages, for those under 5 and for children aged 5-12 years. In this article, we review some of the challenges of treating children with asthma, in particular, the best use of bronchodilators.

DID YOU KNOW?Anticholinergics: How do they Work?
Carol Kelly

Anticholinergic drugs are bronchodilators that act by blocking acetylcholine, the neurotransmitter for the parasympathetic nervous system. By blocking parasympathetic stimulation, anticholinergics reduce cholinergic tone, therefore producing bronchodilation. In this article we review when and how these drugs should be used. What are their potential benefits and what should we tell patients who need them?

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TOPICDIAGNOSISThe Breathless Patient: Is it Asthma or COPD?
Shona Shires

Breathlessness is a very common problem in the patients we see in general practice, and there is a range of possible causes. In this article – the first in a series of three looking at how to diagnose what’s wrong with a breathless patient – we explore how to distinguish between two of the commonest respiratory causes of breathlessness, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

HAVE YOU HEARD?Have you Heard?

INTERVIEWStill a breath of fresh air: 20th anniversary for the General Practice Airways Group (GPIAG)

The BJPCN interviewed Dr Steve Holmes (Chairman of the GPIAG) and Stephanie Wolf (GPIAG General Committee member) on the 20th anniversary of the organisation.

RESEARCH MADE EASYResearch Made Easy
Jane Upton