The Australian Lung Foundation has released new guidelines for the management of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.
The second paragraph in the Foreword caught my attention:
Smoking is the most important risk factor for COPD. In 2004-05, 24.2% of Australian males and 18.4% of Australian females over the age of 18 years smoked[1]. Smoking-related diseases have increased substantially in women, and death rates from COPD in women are expected to rise accordingly. The death rate from COPD among indigenous Australians is five times that for non-indigenous Australians, and smoking is a leading cause of healthy years lost by indigenous people both in Australia and New Zealand.
The key recommendations are summarised in the “COPDX Plan”:
- Confirm diagnosis
- Optimise function
- Prevent deterioration
- Develop a self-management plan and manage
- eXacerbations
See page 10 of the guidelines for a summary of the COPDX guidelines. If you didn’t click on the link above this link will take you to the Lung Foundation Guidelines (pdf).
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