Internal medicine journal
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Internal medicine journal · Sep 2020
Case ReportsSwitching from long-acting beta-agonist and inhaled corticosteroid to long-acting beta-agonist and long-acting muscarinic antagonist for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a case report of inhaled corticosteroid withdrawal.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a medical condition characterised by persistent respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation. For the long-term management of COPD, inhaled therapies are the main approach to maintenance treatment. In order to improve treatment efficacy and tolerability for patients with COPD, recent clinical trials have focused on the withdrawal of inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs), the use of which has been associated with adverse outcomes, including pneumonia. ⋯ He was subsequently maintained in a stable condition, and was able to live and travel independently. This case report of successful ICS withdrawal suggests that, for moderate-to-severe COPD, if it is assessed individually, dual therapy of LABA and long-acting muscarinic antagonist can be highly effective and well-tolerated. Treatment compliance and lifestyle modifications have been shown to be critical in optimising treatment outcomes.
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Internal medicine journal · Sep 2020
Ambiguous medical abbreviation study: challenges and opportunities.
Healthcare workers often abbreviate for convenience, but ambiguous abbreviations may cause miscommunication, which jeopardises patient care. Robust large-scale research to quantify abbreviation frequency and ambiguity in medical documents is lacking. ⋯ Close to one-third of abbreviations used in general medical discharge summaries were ambiguous. Electronic auto-expansion of ambiguous abbreviations is likely to reduce miscommunication and improve patient safety.