Introduction Chronic non-invasive ventilation (NIV) has become evidence-based care for stable hypercapnic COPD patients. While the number of patients increases, home initiation of NIV would greatly ...

Background Switching inhalers to cheaper equivalent products is often advocated as a necessary cost saving measure, yet the impact on patient’s health and healthcare utilisation has not been measured.

Rationale: Dyspnoea is a debilitating and distressing symptom that is reflected in different verbal descriptors. Evidence suggests that dyspnoea, like pain perception, consists of sensory quality and ...

Exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are associated with increased morbidity and mortality. The effective management of COPD exacerbations awaits a better understanding of the ...

Background Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The extent to which the excess CVD risk is captured by risk factors in ...

Background Reports of non-invasive ventilation (NIV) use in clinical practice reveal higher mortality rates than in corresponding randomised clinical trials. Aim To explore factors related to chronic ...

Exercise tolerance predicts survival and mental health. To test benefits during adolescence for patients with pulmonary ...

It is customary—albeit perhaps simplistic—to identify four ethical principles as the basis for good medical practice.1 These are beneficence, non-maleficence, respect for autonomy, and justice, ...

Introduction The gender-age-physiology (GAP) index is an easy-to-use baseline mortality prediction model in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The GAP index does not incorporate exercise capacity ...

Introduction Interstitial lung diseases (ILD) are a diverse group of pulmonary fibrotic and inflammatory conditions. The global burden of ILD is largely unknown, in part because of differences between ...

Introduction COPD is a heterogeneous disorder with varied phenotypes. We aimed to determine the prevalence of asthma history, peripheral eosinophilia and elevated FeNO levels along with the diagnostic ...

A 9-year-old girl presented with a 9-week history of persistent coughing. She was HIV-negative, had no prior health issues, no history of asthma or recurrent infections and reported no known contact ...