Resource Articles
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Differentiating Asthma from COPD
Whilst asthma and COPD are different diseases they cause similar symptoms, which can present a challenge in identifying which of the two diseases a patient is suffering from. A patient survey by the British Lung Foundation (BLF) showed that nearly 39% of COPD patients had been told they have asthma.
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Hygiene Considerations for Spirometry
Everyone performing spirometry testing knows that a new mouthpiece should be used for each new test subject, but that is not the end of spirometer hygiene procedures. This article details the hygiene reason for a defined interval between spirometry testing, guidelines for routine cleaning and disinfection, suggests procedures in the event of contamination, the Primary Care Practice risk assessment and special considerations for mass screening. The table of annual, monthly, daily, user and individual test subject procedures is a useful guide.
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Lung Health Through The Ages
Forms of spirometers were used long before the concept of 'science' when such things were the realm of philosophers . As early as around 150 A.D. Greek philosopher Claudius Galen, a physician, was recorded as experimenting on human ventilation by getting a child to breathe in and out of a bladder.
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Medical Data Security in Next Generation Medical Devices
Just as mobile phone technology is advancing, similarly medical devices are adopting many of the same attributes, particularly in the storage, retrieval, sharing and transmission of medical data for many different purposes.
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New 2011 COPD Guidelines
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) disease is the 5th biggest killer in the UK, causing more deaths than cancer of the bowel, breast or prostate. An estimated 3 million people in the UK have COPD, although only an estimated 1.5% of the population have been correctly diagnosed. Worldwide, COPD is the third leading cause of death and kills on average one person every 10 seconds.
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Inhaler Choice and Validation
For a medication to work it has to be taken effectively by the patient. This sounds obvious and simple, but for practitioners prescribing inhalers it is not as simple as writing out a prescription. Evidence shows that many patients continue to suffer symptoms unnecessarily and that poor inhaler use and compliance is one of the main reasons for this.
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