Sensitivity of different spirometric tests for detecting airway obstruction in childhood asthma

http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/02770903.2014.984842


Conclusions: 
(1) Tests at low lung volumes (small airway tests) are more sensitive than large airway tests; 
(2) Within groups, the FEV₁ is better than PEFR and FEF₇₅ is better than FEF_25–75 or FEF₅₀.

REVIEW - Diagnosis And Monitoring Of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

http://www.hsric.nihr.ac.uk/topics/review-diagnosis-and-monitoring-of-chronic-obstructive-pulmonary-disease/

Horizon Scanning Research & Intelligence Centre

What does the future hold for COPD diagnostic and monitoring technologies?

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a lifelong, progressive and incurable disease of the airways that affects more than 1.5 million people in England and Wales. Patients experience shortness of breath and cough, which restricts their daily life, and many also suffer periods when their symptoms get rapidly worse. These ‘exacerbations’ are often due to infection and usually require treatment with antibiotics and corticosteroids, often in hospital. COPD is therefore a significant burden on patients, carers and the NHS.

Currently, the diagnosis of COPD is often delayed, meaning that patients miss out on appropriate care in the early stages of their disease. In addition, COPD exacerbations are usually treated without knowing the specific cause of the exacerbation, which exposes some patients to unnecessary treatments, a particular concern given the increasing development of antibiotic resistance and the potentially significant side effects of corticosteroids. In this review, we sought to determine whether any technologies currently in development could address these issues. We identified technologies by searching a wide range of online sources, and then asked clinical experts and patients with COPD to comment on each technology’s level of innovation, likely impact on patients and health services, acceptability to users, and likelihood of adoption by the NHS.

Using a mobile health application to support self-management in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a six-month cohort study

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4472616/

Conclusions

Home based, unassisted, daily use of the mHealth platform is feasible and acceptable to people with COPD for reporting daily symptoms and medicine use, and to measure physiological variables such as pulse rate and oxygen saturation. These findings provide evidence for integrating telehealth interventions with clinical care pathways to support self-management in COPD.

Prophylactic Antibiotics for the Prevention of COPD Exacerbation

http://www.aafp.org/afp/2014/0601/p870.html?utm_cmpid=aafp&utm_campaign=afp&utm_div=pub&utm_tactic=soc&utm_mission=pe&utm_prod=afpj&hootPostID=40169811ce1fde86fe8ecc13d2f02a7a

The British Thoracic Society guidelines on the investigation and management of pulmonary nodules

http://thorax.bmj.com/content/early/2015/07/01/thoraxjnl-2015-207221.abstract?papetoc