Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease News and Research

Latest Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease News and Research

New comorbidity index helps predict post-transplant survival

Patients awaiting liver transplantation who also suffer from other medical problems may face poorer survival after transplantation.

6 Nov 2007

Patients denied admission to intensive care because of doctors' pessimism

Doctors are overly pessimistic about the chances of survival for patients with COPD related attacks and, as a result, some patients may be denied admission to hospital for vital help, according to a study published on bmj.com.

2 Nov 2007

Safety of nebulized Formoterol in COPD

Data from two Phase III clinical trials were presented today in Chicago at CHEST 2007, the annual scientific assembly of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), supporting the use of Perforomist (formoterol fumarate) Inhalation Solution as a safe and effective maintenance treatment for COPD patients.

24 Oct 2007

One out of three patients with asthma or COPD use inhalers incorrectly

One out of three patients with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) use their inhalers incorrectly, a new study shows.

23 Oct 2007

Self-management education for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Self-management education programs for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) significantly decrease hospital admissions, researchers report in a new systematic review of studies.

17 Oct 2007

Mortality rates 71 percent lower at top-rated hospitals

Patients have on average a 71 percent lower chance of dying at the nation's top-rated hospitals compared with the lowest-rated hospitals across 18 procedures and conditions analyzed in the tenth annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality in America Study, issued today by HealthGrades, the healthcare ratings company.

16 Oct 2007

COPD more common place in China that originally thought

In China, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in people over the age of 40 is much more prevalent than previously thought, according to researchers in Guangdong.

15 Oct 2007

What our genes tell us - Identifying biomarkers for key environmental risk factors

Identifying biomarkers for the key environmental risk factors responsible for two diseases that significantly contribute to death and disease of hundreds of thousands annually will be the initial focus of a new center being established at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

4 Oct 2007

Gene-chip studies provide new leads in treating abnormal lung development in premature newborns

Some 20 to 40 percent of extremely premature infants suffer abnormal lung development leading to bronchopulmonary dysplasia, a chronic lung disease that can cause long-term breathing problems.

4 Oct 2007

Care by a hospital-based general physician strongly associated with shorter length of hospital stay in patients

Patients at an academic medical center who are cared for by a hospital-based general physician may have a shorter length of hospital stay than those who are not, especially if the patients require close monitoring or complex discharge planning, according to a report in the September 24 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

25 Sep 2007

New understandings of diagnosis, treatment and prevention of COPD

The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) has released new standards for the diagnosis, management and prevention of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

17 Sep 2007

Exercising in bad air could be a killer

A new study by British and Swedish researchers has found that air pollution could potentially harm the blood vessels and clotting abilities of people with heart disease.

14 Sep 2007

Impact of indoor air quality on COPD patients

Poor indoor air quality can significantly worsen health problems in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), according to researchers in Scotland. High concentrations of fine particulate pollution - the type of pollution associated with secondhand smoke and, in developing countries, indoor cooking and heating fires - were strongly linked to poorer health status.

3 Sep 2007

COPD can no longer be judged as only a disease of the lungs

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) can no longer be judged as only a disease of the lungs, say authors of a Viewpoint in this week's COPD special edition of The Lancet.

30 Aug 2007

Ambulatory oxygen rarely a benefit in COPD patients without resting hypoxemia

Prescribing ambulatory oxygen in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) improves exercise performance, but not the quality of their daily life unless they have resting hypoxemia, according to researchers in Toronto.

17 Aug 2007

Improving the quality of primary care could prevent 4 million hospitalizations each year

More than 4 million hospitalizations potentially could be prevented each year by improving the quality of primary care, enhancing patients' access to effective treatments, and getting more Americans to adopt healthy behaviors, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

13 Aug 2007

Refusal of medical and surgical interventions common among chronically ill elderly

Chronically ill older persons frequently refuse medical and surgical interventions recommended by their physicians, according to a recent study by Yale School of Medicine researchers.

9 Aug 2007

GSK receives FDA 'not approvable letter' for Advair for COPD

GlaxoSmithKline has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a not approvable letter for the supplemental drug application for the 500/50 strength of Advair Diskus (fluticasone propionate and salmeterol inhalation powder) in the treatment of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

9 Aug 2007

Sex and gender differences in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

In the first study to directly compare men and women with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, and severe emphysema, researchers have found that there are marked differences between the sexes.

3 Aug 2007

COPD patients taking inhaled steroids are at greater risk for severe pneumonia

Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) are increasingly being prescribed inhaled corticosteroids to control exacerbations of the disease, but a new study finds that the anti-inflammatory drugs increase the chances that these patients will be hospitalized for pneumonia.

17 Jul 2007