New practice guidelines from the American College of Physicians (ACP) give primary care clinicians a practical, easy-to-use tool for diagnosing and treating patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
"It has been increasingly recognized that COPD is a major cause of mortality and morbidity," said Steven Weinberger, MD, senior vice president for medical education and publishing at the ACP, and an author of the guidelines, which were published in November (Qaseem A et al. Ann Intern Med. 2007;147[9]:633-638).
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The American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society (ATS/ERS) and the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) already have developed detailed COPD guidelines. But respiratory specialists welcome the more compact recommendations tailored for primary care professionals.
"HUGE" RECOGNITION
"This is really huge, to be talking about COPD and to have the ACP involved," said Antonio Anzueto, MD, professor of medicine at the University of . . . [Full Text of this Article]