Articles related to CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISORDER (COPD)

A pharmacy-driven COPD TOC service did not significantly reduce the 30-day re-presentation rate, according to this study. It did discover that a sizable proportion of patients with COPD exacerbation who were admitted might require an inhaler change, and it illustrates the value of this kind of TOC service for seeing and fixing medication-related issues particular to this disease state. The percentage of patients receiving the entire intended intervention had room for improvement.

A double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial including people with COPD and chronic breathlessness was conducted at 20 Australian medical centers. One-hundred sixty participants were randomized to oral extended-release morphine versus placebo. The change in the intensity of worst breathlessness at week 1 was not significantly different between the morphine group and the placebo group.

Palliative care (PC) can help reduce emergency department use, hospitalizations, and symptom burden across a spectrum of diseases. To assist clinicians in keeping their expertise current, the authors reviewed and summarized the top PC articles of 2020. The analysis included 28 PC intervention trials for heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and dementia.

A proposed six-step approach to making sense of arterial blood gas (ABG) labs. This six-step process with simple table support helps ensure a complete and understandable interpretation of every ABG.