Recommendations for the pharmacological treatment of COPD: questions and answers / Recomendações para o tratamento farmacológico da DPOC: perguntas e respostas

ABSTRACT The treatment of COPD has become increasingly effective. Measures that range from behavioral changes, reduction in exposure to risk factors, education about the disease and its course, rehabilitation, oxygen therapy, management of comorbidities, and surgical and pharmacological treatments to end-of-life care allow health professionals to provide a personalized and effective therapy. The pharmacological treatment of COPD is one of the cornerstones of COPD management, and there have been many advances in this area in recent years. Given the greater availability of drugs and therapeutic combinations, it has become increasingly challenging to know the indications for, limitations of, and potential risks and benefits of each treatment modality. In order to critically evaluate recent evidence and systematize the major questions regarding the pharmacological treatment of COPD, 24 specialists from all over Brazil gathered to develop the present recommendations. A visual guide was developed for the classification and treatment of COPD, both of which were adapted to fit the situation in Brazil. Ten questions were selected on the basis of their relevance in clinical practice. They address the classification, definitions, treatment, and evidence available for each drug or drug combination. Each question was answered by two specialists, and then the answers were consolidated in two phases: review and consensus by all participants. The questions answered are practical questions and help select from among the many options the best treatment for each patient and his/her peculiarities.

RESUMO O tratamento da DPOC vem se tornando cada vez mais eficaz. Medidas que envolvem desde mudanças comportamentais, redução de exposições a fatores de risco, educação sobre a doença e seu curso, reabilitação, oxigenoterapia, manejo de comorbidades, tratamentos cirúrgicos e farmacológicos até os cuidados de fim de vida permitem ao profissional oferecer uma terapêutica personalizada e efetiva. O tratamento farmacológico da DPOC constitui um dos principais pilares desse manejo, e muitos avanços têm sido atingidos na área nos últimos anos. Com a maior disponibilidade de medicações e combinações terapêuticas fica cada vez mais desafiador conhecer as indicações, limitações, potenciais riscos e benefícios de cada tratamento. Com o intuito de avaliar criticamente a evidência recente e sistematizar as principais dúvidas referentes ao tratamento farmacológico da DPOC, foram reunidos 24 especialistas de todo o Brasil para elaborar a presente recomendação. Foi elaborado um guia visual para a classificação e tratamento adaptados à nossa realidade. Dez perguntas foram selecionadas pela relevância na prática clínica. Abordam a classificação, definições, tratamento e evidências disponíveis para cada medicação ou combinação. Cada pergunta foi respondida por dois especialistas e depois consolidadas em duas fases: revisão e consenso entre todos os participantes. As questões respondidas são dúvidas práticas e ajudam a selecionar qual o melhor tratamento, entre as muitas opções, para cada paciente com suas particularidades.

Recommendations for the pharmacological treatment of COPD: questions and answers.

The treatment of COPD has become increasingly effective. Measures that range from behavioral changes, reduction in exposure to risk factors, education about the disease and its course, rehabilitation, oxygen therapy, management of comorbidities, and surgical and pharmacological treatments to end-of-life care allow health professionals to provide a personalized and effective therapy. The pharmacological treatment of COPD is one of the cornerstones of COPD management, and there have been many advances in this area in recent years. Given the greater availability of drugs and therapeutic combinations, it has become increasingly challenging to know the indications for, limitations of, and potential risks and benefits of each treatment modality. In order to critically evaluate recent evidence and systematize the major questions regarding the pharmacological treatment of COPD, 24 specialists from all over Brazil gathered to develop the present recommendations. A visual guide was developed for the classification and treatment of COPD, both of which were adapted to fit the situation in Brazil. Ten questions were selected on the basis of their relevance in clinical practice. They address the classification, definitions, treatment, and evidence available for each drug or drug combination. Each question was answered by two specialists, and then the answers were consolidated in two phases: review and consensus by all participants. The questions answered are practical questions and help select from among the many options the best treatment for each patient and his/her peculiarities.

Smoking control: challenges and achievements.

Smoking is the most preventable and controllable health risk. Therefore, all health care professionals should give their utmost attention to and be more focused on the problem of smoking. Tobacco is a highly profitable product, because of its large-scale production and great number of consumers. Smoking control policies and treatment resources for smoking cessation have advanced in recent years, showing highly satisfactory results, particularly in Brazil. However, there is yet a long way to go before smoking can be considered a controlled disease from a public health standpoint. We can already perceive that the behavior of our society regarding smoking is changing, albeit slowly. Therefore, pulmonologists have a very promising area in which to work with their patients and the general population. We must act with greater impetus in support of health care policies and social living standards that directly contribute to improving health and quality of life. In this respect, pulmonologists can play a greater role as they get more involved in treating smokers, strengthening anti-smoking laws, and demanding health care policies related to lung diseases. RESUMO O tabagismo é o fator de risco mais prevenível e controlável em saúde e, por isso, precisa ter a máxima atenção e ser muito mais enfocado por todos os profissionais da saúde. O tabaco é um produto de alta rentabilidade pela sua grande produção e pelo elevado número de consumidores. As políticas de controle e os recursos terapêuticos para o tabagismo avançaram muito nos últimos anos e têm mostrado resultados altamente satisfatórios, particularmente no Brasil. Entretanto, ainda resta um longo caminho a ser percorrido para que se possa considerar o tabagismo como uma doença controlada sob o ponto de vista da saúde pública. Já se observam modificações do comportamento da sociedade com relação ao tabagismo, mas ainda em escala muito lenta, de modo que os pneumologistas têm nesse setor um campo muito promissor para atuar junto a seus pacientes e a população em geral. É preciso atuar com maior ímpeto em prol das políticas de saúde e das normas de convívio social que contribuem diretamente para melhorar a saúde e a vida. Nesse aspecto, os pneumologistas podem ter um papel de maior destaque na medida em que se envolvam com o tratamento dos fumantes, a aplicação da lei antifumo e as políticas de saúde relacionadas às doenças respiratórias.

Smoking control: challenges and achievements / Controle do tabagismo: desafios e conquistas

ABSTRACT Smoking is the most preventable and controllable health risk. Therefore, all health care professionals should give their utmost attention to and be more focused on the problem of smoking. Tobacco is a highly profitable product, because of its large-scale production and great number of consumers. Smoking control policies and treatment resources for smoking cessation have advanced in recent years, showing highly satisfactory results, particularly in Brazil. However, there is yet a long way to go before smoking can be considered a controlled disease from a public health standpoint. We can already perceive that the behavior of our society regarding smoking is changing, albeit slowly. Therefore, pulmonologists have a very promising area in which to work with their patients and the general population. We must act with greater impetus in support of health care policies and social living standards that directly contribute to improving health and quality of life. In this respect, pulmonologists can play a greater role as they get more involved in treating smokers, strengthening anti-smoking laws, and demanding health care policies related to lung diseases.

RESUMO O tabagismo é o fator de risco mais prevenível e controlável em saúde e, por isso, precisa ter a máxima atenção e ser muito mais enfocado por todos os profissionais da saúde. O tabaco é um produto de alta rentabilidade pela sua grande produção e pelo elevado número de consumidores. As políticas de controle e os recursos terapêuticos para o tabagismo avançaram muito nos últimos anos e têm mostrado resultados altamente satisfatórios, particularmente no Brasil. Entretanto, ainda resta um longo caminho a ser percorrido para que se possa considerar o tabagismo como uma doença controlada sob o ponto de vista da saúde pública. Já se observam modificações do comportamento da sociedade com relação ao tabagismo, mas ainda em escala muito lenta, de modo que os pneumologistas têm nesse setor um campo muito promissor para atuar junto a seus pacientes e a população em geral. É preciso atuar com maior ímpeto em prol das políticas de saúde e das normas de convívio social que contribuem diretamente para melhorar a saúde e a vida. Nesse aspecto, os pneumologistas podem ter um papel de maior destaque na medida em que se envolvam com o tratamento dos fumantes, a aplicação da lei antifumo e as políticas de saúde relacionadas às doenças respiratórias.

Capítulo 5 - Aspergilose: do diagnóstico ao tratamento / Chapter 5 - Aspergillosis: from diagnosis to treatment

A aspergilose é uma doença multifacetada cujas manifestações clínicas são determinadas pela resposta imune do hospedeiro; podem se apresentar de forma alérgica, saprofítica ou invasiva. A aspergilose broncopulmonar alérgica caracteriza-se por asma corticoide dependente, febre, hemoptise e destruição da via aérea, que pode progredir para fibrose com faveolamento. O tratamento consiste da associação de corticosteroide e itraconazol. A aspergilose pulmonar invasiva requer documentação histopatológica e cultura positiva de material estéril para o diagnóstico. Possui pior prognóstico. O voriconazol apresenta melhor resposta terapêutica, proporcionando maior sobrevida e segurança do que a anfotericina B. A aspergilose pulmonar necrotizante crônica causa destruição progressiva do pulmão em pacientes com doença pulmonar crônica e leve grau de imunossupressão. O tratamento é realizado com itraconazol oral. A aspergilose pulmonar cavitária crônica causa múltiplas cavidades, contendo ou não aspergiloma, associadas a sintomas pulmonares e sistêmicos. O aspergiloma é caracterizado por tosse produtiva crônica e hemoptise em portadores de doença pulmonar crônica, associados a uma cavidade contendo massa arredondada, às vezes móvel, e separada da parede por espaço aéreo. A ressecção cirúrgica é o tratamento definitivo para ambas. Antifúngicos triazólicos promovem beneficio terapêutico a longo prazo com risco mínimo.

Aspergillosis is a multifaceted disease whose clinical manifestations (allergic, saprophytic and invasive forms) are determined by the host immune response. Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis is characterized by corticosteroid-dependent asthma, fever, hemoptysis and destruction of the airways, which can evolve to fibrosis with honeycombing. The treatment consists of the combined use of a corticosteroid and itraconazole. Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis, which has a worse prognosis, is diagnosed based on histopathological documentation and positive culture of a sterile specimen. The treatment response obtained with voriconazole is better, in terms of survival and safety, than that obtained with amphotericin B. In patients with chronic pulmonary disease who are mildly immunocompromised, chronic necrotizing pulmonary aspergillosis causes progressive destruction of the lung. Such patients are treated with oral itraconazole. Chronic cavitary pulmonary aspergillosis causes multiple cavities, with or without aspergilloma, accompanied by pulmonary and systemic symptoms. In patients with chronic pulmonary disease, the aspergilloma is characterized by chronic productive cough and hemoptysis, together with a cavity containing a rounded, sometimes mobile, mass separated from the cavity wall by airspace. Surgical resection is the definitive treatment for both types of aspergillosis. Triazole fungicides provide long-term treatment benefits with minimal risk.

Chapter 5--Aspergillosis: from diagnosis to treatment.

Aspergillosis is a multifaceted disease whose clinical manifestations (allergic, saprophytic and invasive forms) are determined by the host immune response. Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis is characterized by corticosteroid-dependent asthma, fever, hemoptysis and destruction of the airways, which can evolve to fibrosis with honeycombing. The treatment consists of the combined use of a corticosteroid and itraconazole. Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis, which has a worse prognosis, is diagnosed based on histopathological documentation and positive culture of a sterile specimen. The treatment response obtained with voriconazole is better, in terms of survival and safety, than that obtained with amphotericin B. In patients with chronic pulmonary disease who are mildly immunocompromised, chronic necrotizing pulmonary aspergillosis causes progressive destruction of the lung. Such patients are treated with oral itraconazole. Chronic cavitary pulmonary aspergillosis causes multiple cavities, with or without aspergilloma, accompanied by pulmonary and systemic symptoms. In patients with chronic pulmonary disease, the aspergilloma is characterized by chronic productive cough and hemoptysis, together with a cavity containing a rounded, sometimes mobile, mass separated from the cavity wall by airspace. Surgical resection is the definitive treatment for both types of aspergillosis. Triazole fungicides provide long-term treatment benefits with minimal risk.

Smoking cessation guidelines--2008.

These guidelines are an up-to-date and comprehensive tool to aid health professionals in treating smokers, recommending measures and strategies for managing each case based on clinical evidence. Written in a simplified and objective manner, the text is divided into two principal sections: Evaluation and Treatment. The sections both present comments on and levels of evidence represented by the references cited, as well as some proposals for the reduction of damage and for intervening in specific and still poorly explored situations, such as relapse, passive smoking, physician smoking, and tobacco use in specific environments.

Diretrizes para cessação do tabagismo: 2008 / Smoking cessation guidelines: 2008

Estas diretrizes constituem uma ferramenta atualizada e abrangente para auxiliar o profissional de saúde na abordagem do tabagista, recomendando atitudes baseadas em evidências clínicas como a melhor forma de conduzir cada caso. De forma reduzida e mais objetiva possível, o texto final foi agrupado em dois grandes itens: Avaliação e Tratamento. Os dois itens apresentam comentários e níveis de recomendação das referências utilizadas, bem como algumas propostas de abordagem, como por exemplo, redução de danos, em situações específicas ainda pouco exploradas, como recaídas, tabagismo passivo, tabagismo na categoria médica e uso de tabaco em ambientes específicos.

These guidelines are an up-to-date and comprehensive tool to aid health professionals in treating smokers, recommending measures and strategies for managing each case based on clinical evidence. Written in a simplified and objective manner, the text is divided into two principal sections: Evaluation and Treatment. The sections both present comments on and levels of evidence represented by the references cited, as well as some proposals for the reduction of damage and for intervening in specific and still poorly explored situations, such as relapse, passive smoking, physician smoking, and tobacco use in specific environments.

Aspergillus niger causing tracheobronchitis and invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in a lung transplant recipient: case report.

A case of invasive aspergillosis caused by Aspergillus niger in a lung transplant recipient is described. The patient presented hyperglycemia starting postoperatively, with other complications such as cytomegalovirus infection. The associated predisposing factors and other implications are discussed. Aspergillus niger seems to be a fungal species of low virulence that requires the presence of a severely immunosuppressed host to cause invasive disease.

Aspergillus niger causing tracheobronchitis and invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in a lung transplant recipient: case report / Aspergillus niger causando traqueobronquite e aspergilose pulmonar invasiva em transplantado de pulmão: relato de caso

A case of invasive aspergillosis caused by Aspergillus niger in a lung transplant recipient is described. The patient presented hyperglycemia starting postoperatively, with other complications such as cytomegalovirus infection. The associated predisposing factors and other implications are discussed. Aspergillus niger seems to be a fungal species of low virulence that requires the presence of a severely immunosuppressed host to cause invasive disease.

Descreve-se um caso de aspergilose invasiva causada por Aspergillus niger em um paciente transplantado de pulmão com quadros hiperglicêmicos desde o pós-operatório e outras complicações como infecção por citomegalovírus. Os fatores predisponentes associados e outras implicações são discutidos. Aspergillus niger parece ser uma espécie fúngica de baixa virulência, necessitando a presença de um hospedeiro gravemente imunodeprimido para causar doença invasiva.

Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis due to a mixed infection caused by Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus fumigatus

La aspergilosis pulmonar invasora es producida típicamente por una únicaespecie de Aspergillus, siendo habitualmente Aspergillus fumigatus.Se presenta el caso clínico de un receptor de trasplante de pulmón quedesarrolló aspergilosis invasora por una infección mixta causada porAspergillus flavus y A. fumigatus. Se discuten las implicaciones de la rarezade este caso

Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis is typically caused by a single Aspergillusspecies, most frequently Aspergillus fumigatus. Here we report that a lungtransplant recipient developed invasive aspergillosis due to a mixed infectioncaused by Aspergillus flavus and A. fumigatus. The implications for thisunusual finding are discussed(AU)