Primary prevention of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in primary care.
Proc Am Thorac Soc
; 6(8): 704-6, 2009 Dec.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-20008880
ABSTRACT
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a prevalent disease, with cigarette smoking being the main risk factor. Prevention is crucial in the fight against COPD. Whereas primary prevention is targeted on whole populations, patient populations are the focus of primary care; therefore, prevention in this setting is mainly aimed at preventing further deterioration of the disease in patients who present with the first signs of disease (secondary prevention). Prevention of COPD in primary care requires detection of COPD at an early stage. An accurate definition of COPD is crucial in this identification process. The benefits of detecting new patients with COPD should be determined before recommending screening and case-finding programs in primary care. No evidence is available that screening by spirometry results in significant health gains. Effective treatment options in patients with mild disease are lacking. Smoking cessation is the cornerstone of COPD prevention. Because cigarette smoking is not only a major cause of COPD but is also a major cause of many other diseases, a decline in tobacco smoking would result in substantial health benefits.
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Atenção Primária à Saúde
/
Doença Pulmonar Obstrutiva Crônica
Tipo de estudo:
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Adult
/
Aged
/
Humans
/
Middle aged
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2009
Tipo de documento:
Article