International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
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Cytokines play an important part in many pathobiological processes of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including the chronic inflammatory process, emphysema, and altered innate immune response. Proinflammatory cytokines of potential importance include tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interferon-γ, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-17, IL-18, IL-32, and thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), and growth factors such as transforming growth factor-β. The current objectives of COPD treatment are to reduce symptoms, and to prevent and reduce the number of exacerbations. ⋯ Studies of antibodies against IL-17, IL-18, IL-1β, and TSLP are currently either being undertaken or planned. There is a need to carefully phenotype COPD and discover good biomarkers of drug efficacy for each specific target. Specific groups of COPD patients should be targeted with specific anticytokine therapy if there is evidence of high expression of that cytokine and there are features of the clinical expression of COPD that will respond.
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Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis · Jan 2014
ReviewExamining the relationship between anxiety and depression and exacerbations of COPD which result in hospital admission: a systematic review.
Exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are the third largest cause of emergency hospital admissions in the UK. This systematic literature review explored the relationship between the hospitalization rates and the COPD comorbidities, anxiety, and depression. ⋯ Findings from the systematic review have highlighted a need for better recognition and treatment of anxiety and depression amongst individuals with COPD. Ongoing research will develop and test strategies for promoting better management and self-management as a means of reducing hospital admissions.
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Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis · Jan 2014
Randomized Controlled TrialHow do informal self-care strategies evolve among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease managed in primary care? A qualitative study.
There is much description in the literature of how patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) manage their breathlessness and engage in self-care activities; however, little of this is from the perspective of those with less severe disease, who are primarily managed in primary care. This study aimed to understand the self-care experiences of patients with COPD who are primarily managed in primary care, and to examine the challenges of engaging in such behaviors. ⋯ Self-care activities evolved spontaneously as participants experienced symptoms of COPD. However, there was a lack of awareness about whether these strategies would impact upon symptoms. Perceptions of COPD by family members posed a challenge to self-care for some participants. Health care professionals should elicit patients' prior disease experiences and utilize spontaneous attempts at disease management in future self-management. These findings have implications for promoting self-management and enhancing quality of life.
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Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis · Jan 2014
Comparative Study Observational StudyExplaining the increased health care expenditures associated with gastroesophageal reflux disease among elderly Medicare beneficiaries with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a cost-decomposition analysis.
To estimate excess health care expenditures associated with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) among elderly individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and examine the contribution of predisposing characteristics, enabling resources, need variables, personal health care practices, and external environment factors to the excess expenditures, using the Blinder-Oaxaca linear decomposition technique. ⋯ Among elderly Medicare beneficiaries with COPD, the presence of GERD was associated with higher expenditures. Need factors primarily contributed to the differences in average health care expenditures, suggesting that the comanagement of chronic conditions may reduce excess health care expenditures associated with GERD.
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Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis · Jan 2014
Comparative StudyHealth status in patients with coexistent COPD and heart failure: a validation and comparison between the Clinical COPD Questionnaire and the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and heart failure (HF) are both common diseases that coexist frequently. Patients with both diseases have worse stable state health status when compared with patients with one of these diseases. In many outpatient clinics, health status is monitored routinely in COPD patients using the Clinical COPD Questionnaire (CCQ) and in HF patients with the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHF-Q). This study validated and compared which questionnaire, ie, the CCQ or the MLHF-Q, is suited best for patients with coexistent COPD and HF. ⋯ CCQ and MLHF-Q were both valid and reliable questionnaires for assessment of health status in patients with coexistent COPD and HF on the group level, and hence for research. However, in clinical practice, on the individual level, the characteristics of both questionnaires were not as good. There is room for a questionnaire with good evaluative properties on the individual level, preferably tested in a setting of patients with COPD or HF, or both.