Thorax
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To assess the contribution of workplace exposures to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) risk in a community with a heavy burden of past industrial employment. ⋯ This heavy industrial community-based population study has confirmed significant associations between reported COPD and both generic VGDF and JEM-defined exposures. This study supports the predominantly international evidence-based notion that workplace conditions are important when considering the current and future respiratory health of the workforce.
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Guidelines recommend open discussions between patients and healthcare professionals as the end-of-life (EOL) approaches. Much of the knowledge about the EOL is based on the needs of patients with cancer and the applicability of this to other diseases is often queried. A literature review was undertaken concerning EOL care (EOLC) conversations in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). ⋯ Patients' preferences for EOLC conversations vary greatly. Healthcare professionals need to respect the wishes of those not wanting to discuss EOLC and provide multiple opportunities for those who do wish to have these discussions. Recommendations on how to approach the conversation are made.
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Health status is impaired in patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD). There is a paucity of tools that assess health status in ILD. The objective of this study was to develop and validate the King's Brief Interstitial Lung Disease questionnaire (K-BILD), a new health status measure for patients with ILD. ⋯ The K-BILD questionnaire is a brief, valid, self-completed health status measure for ILD. It could be used in the clinic to assess ILD from the patients' perspective.