The safety and long-term effects of hypnotic medications in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have been called into question by a new study.
Cold, Heat Waves Can Present Extra Danger for COPD Patients
Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are adversely impacted by extreme weather conditions, and the effects vary by gender and ethnic backgrounds.
How Lung Volumes Change During Progression of Spirometric COPD
Abnormal lung volumes representing air-trapping identify the subset of smokers with preserved spirometry who develop spirometric chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and adverse outcomes can be identified by abnormal lung volumes representing air-trapping.
More Treatment Failure Risk in Patients on Antidepressants and Montelukast
Montelukast, a prescription drug used to treat and prevent asthma, can affect antidepressant effectiveness, and initiating the asthma medication in patients already receiving antidepressant maintenance therapy is associated with an increased risk for treatment failure, according to a new study.
Intervention Improves COPD Patients’ Access to Pulmonary Care
Exposure to oil well fires, burn pits and sand and dust particles as well as the use of tobacco products puts veterans at increased risk of lung diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Smokers With Preserved Lung Function Not Helped by Dual Bronchodilators
Long-term smokers often have serious respiratory symptoms, but without airflow obstruction. A new study questioned whether those patients should be treated with drugs used for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
More Needs to Be Done Despite VA’s ‘Vast’ Efforts to Improve COPD Outcomes
The prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease among veterans is estimated to be between 8% and 19%—significantly higher than in the general population
Paradoxical Bronchospasm Might Go Unrecognized at VHA Facilities
It is rare, but inhaled short-acting β2-adrenergic agonists can elicit paradoxical bronchospasm (PB), which may be fatal. A new study raised concerns that the condition might be unrecognized at the VHA.
What Affects COPD Patients’ Response to Home Pollution
How COPD patients respond to particulate pollution based on personal characteristics and systemic responses is not well characterized. That’s why a new study sought to find out.
Factors Affecting Which COPD Patients Complete Pulmonary Rehab
Which veterans with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are likely to participate in and complete a pulmonary rehabilitation program?
Early Reduced Airflow Can Predict Later COPD Diagnosis
Can identification of early airflow abnormalities predict future clinically important respiratory-related outcomes, including development of COPD?
VA Hospitals Outperform Others in COPD Readmission, Mortality Rates
In the last decade, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) have prioritized reducing avoidable hospital readmissions.
Best Strategies Determined for Stage 1 NSCLC in Veterans
What is the best strategy for managing veterans with stage 1 non-small cell lung cancer with co-morbid chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or coronary artery disease?
Metformin Shows Promise in Treating Asthma-COPD Combination
A common diabetes drug has been shown to improve respiratory outcomes in asthma but its effects on COPD and the combination of asthma and COPD remained unknown.
Many Female VA Patients Appear to Have Undiagnosed OSA
Too many women veterans remained undiagnosed with sleep apnea, even if they were at high risk of adverse outcomes, according to a new study.
Comorbidities Led to More Severe COVID-19 Cases Among MHS Beneficiaries
About a third of COVID-19 cases among MHS beneficiaries were diagnosed with at least one comorbidity linked to more severe infection
VA Expands COVID-19 Vaccine Eligibility to Veterans With COPD
There’s some good news for veterans with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
GERD Linked to Faster COPD Disease Progression
Gastroesophageal reflux disease is a common comorbidity in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and is linked to increased risk of acute exacerbations, hospitalization, emergency room visits, costs and quality-of-life impairment.
IG: Mismanagement Contributed to Veteran Death at Augusta, GA, VAMC
AUGUSTA—A patient at the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center in Augusta, GA, was held in restraints for nearly three days, contributing to the blood clots in his legs that resulted in his death, a VA inspector general report found last month. The report outlines...
What Leads to Pulmonology Referrals for Veterans With COPD?
BOSTON—At the VA and elsewhere, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease often is managed by primary care physicians and sometimes pulmonologists, but it is not clear what factors spur consultations by pulmonary specialists. In fact, according to a report in Respiratory...
VA Outlines Stepwise Treatment for Asthma-COPD Overlap Syndrome
Respiratory illnesses account for a significant proportion of all noncombat diagnoses among active duty forces and veterans deployed to southwest Asia; past research estimates that more than 3% of all veterans who served in this theater had newly diagnosed asthma and a similar percentage were diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. How to treat those patients is even more difficult when the conditions overlap. That’s why the VA has developed recommendations for the stepwise treatment of asthma-COPD overlap syndrome.
McCoy Helps Rural VA Clinic Use Telehealth to Improve COPD Care
EAST LIVERPOOL, OH — As VA facilities across the country are transferring veterans’ care wherever possible to telehealth in an attempt to promote social distancing and curtail unnecessary visits to hospitals and clinics, one rural outpatient clinic in Ohio is well ahead of the curve.
Deadly Combination for Veterans: Obstructive Lung Disease Plus Sleep Apnea
ATLANTA—Among veterans, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma and obstructive sleep apnea all occur at significantly higher rates than in the general population. Greater rates of smoking and obesity contribute to the elevated risk for these conditions in...
Recent Deployed Veterans Have Greater Exercise-Induced Bronchoconstriction
Small Study Looked at Those Serving in Iraq, Afghanistan EAST ORANGE, NJ—For more than 20 years, many veterans have reported respiratory issues following deployment to southwest Asia. Epidemiological studies indicate that exposure to sand, dust storms, burn pits, air...
Do VA PCPs Over-Prescribe Corticosteroids for Mild-Moderate COPD?
CLEVELAND—Veterans are three times more likely to develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease than the general population, and COPD is the fifth most prevalent disease in the veteran population, affecting about 15% of VHA patients, according to previous research. A...
No Higher Rates of Exacerbation in COPD Patients Using Beta-Blockers
VA Researchers Also Can’t Identify Protective Effects BIRMINGHAM, AL—Multiple observational studies have suggested that beta blockers benefit patients with moderate or severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and coexisting cardiovascular disease, with outcomes...
Benzodiazepines Prescribed Long-Term for COPD/PTSD
SEATTLE — Symptoms of insomnia and anxiety are common among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and that is especially the case among patients with comorbid mental health disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder, according to a new study.
Supplemental Oxygen Needs Rarely Addressed in COPD Inpatients
CHICAGO — Patients hospitalized with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who require supplemental oxygen (O2) are at increased risk of hospital readmissions, but little information exists on the quality of evaluation and documentation regarding the need for supplemental O2 in that population.
Hospitalized COPD Patients More Likely to Also Have PH
HOUSTON — Having comorbid chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and pulmonary hypertension (PH-COPD) increases the risk of hospitalizations and death compared to COPD alone, according to a new study. Identifying PH in COPD is challenging, however, because...
Longer LOS Doesn’t Reduce COPD Readmissions
Recent financial penalties for high risk-adjusted chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) readmissions have pushed hospitals to search for ways to reduce readmissions for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a new study notes.