The importance of obtaining a sputum sample and how it can aid diagnosis and treatment.

Respiratory disease has a major impact on the NHS and continues to be a growing problem as each year passes. However, through improving diagnosis and management of respiratory disease the problem could be lessened. Taking a sputum sample is common practice within respiratory medicine especially for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and helps to diagnose, confirm infection and offer correct treatment. It is important that the multidisciplinary team are aware of how to appropriately obtain sputum samples and when to request them. It is important as a respiratory health professional to understand the patient's usual sputum history including colour, amount and viscosity. Antibiotic stewardship aims to reduce antibiotic resistance through offering the most appropriate antibiotics for those with a bacterial infection and to discourage antibiotic prescribing for those that have not. This should result in better patient outcomes and lower healthcare costs.

Non-pharmacological management of chronic breathlessness in stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

This paper will review and address the pathological processes in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including the prevalence of comorbidities and the implications of these factors for a common disabling COPD symptom, breathlessness. It will further consider non-pharmacological strategies that community nurses can use to support breathlessness relief in the context of holistic patient care.

Development of the face-to-face component and recruitment strategy of a primary care digital social intervention for patients with asthma: Qualitative focus groups and interviews with stakeholders.

BACKGROUND: 5.4 million people in the UK have asthma, with one third experiencing suboptimal control, leading to co-morbidities and increased healthcare use. A quarter of people with long-term conditions informally access peer support through online health communities (OHCs). However, integrating online peer support into primary care services to facilitate self-management is a new concept. OBJECTIVES: To develop together with stakeholders the content, delivery, and recruitment strategy of a digital social intervention to promote use of online peer support amongst asthma patients in primary care. METHODS: Data was collected by qualitative, audio-recorded, one-to-one interviews with clinicians, and focus groups with patients with asthma from East London general practices. The topic guide was informed by patient and public involvement work. Data collected was iterative (i.e. new ideas were added to subsequent interviews and focus groups). Verbatim transcripts were uploaded to NVivo12 and thematically analysed. RESULTS: Twenty patients from several ethnicities participated across five focus groups, and three general practitioners and three practice nurses were interviewed. The study's outputs included: the intervention's face-to-face content; content of clinician training; patient-facing leaflets/material; and a survey to recruit eligible patients. An intervention consisting of a structured consultation with a primary care clinician followed by OHC engagement, was developed based on three generated themes: 'introducing OHCs', describing how clinicians should introduce OHCs; 'OHC engagement', describing factors influencing OHC engagement; and 'clinician training'. CONCLUSION: Findings will assist clinicians in consultations about supporting self-management of patients through OHCs. Future research should evaluate feasibility, effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness of such support.

Promoting online peer support in primary care consultations is a novel concept.The study developed the content of a digital social intervention for patients with asthma.The findings of the current study will inform primary care clinicians' consultations on digital social interventions and will be tested in a trial.

A Systematic Review of the Effectiveness of Interventions to Promote Referral; Adherence; and Uptake of Pulmonary Rehabilitation for Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Background: Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is an effective treatment for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, referral, uptake, and adherence remain low. Objective: To determine effectiveness of interventions to increase patient referral, uptake, and adherence to PR programs for patients with COPD. Methods: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs), non-randomized controlled trials, pre-post studies, and uncontrolled studies were sought from 7 databases and 3 clinical trial registries, to end August 2021. Full articles/conference abstracts were included if a coordinated set of activities was targeted to healthcare professionals (HCPs) caring for COPD patients, adults with COPD or their carers, to increase referral, uptake or adherence to any type of PR program. Two review authors independently screened titles, abstracts and full texts, extracted data and critically appraised studies using standard risk of bias tools. Results: From 11,272 records, 30 studies (23 full-text; 7 abstracts) met inclusion criteria: study interventions and designs were varied and generally low quality, targeting patients (n=13), HCPs (n=14) or both (n=3 studies). A CCT of patient held evidence score cards increased referral by 7.3% compared to 1.3% for usual care (p-0.03). A cluster RCT involving COPD nurse home visits with individualized care plans increased uptake to 31% compared to 10% in usual care (p=0.002). For people with anxiety or depression, one RCT of cognitive behavioral therapy alongside PR increased adherence (mean sessions 14.0 (sd 1.7) compared to 12.4 (sd 2.6)). Conclusion: Although a small number of studies, the weight of evidence suggested that interventions incorporating partnership working between patients and HCPs appeared to increase referral, uptake, and adherence with greater effectiveness than those targeting single populations. Increasing knowledge and empowering HCPs and patients may be important strategies. Concerns about study design and risk of bias suggest clear need for well-designed trials of interventions to report full pathway outcomes.

Non-randomised feasibility study testing a primary care intervention to promote engagement in an online health community for adults with troublesome asthma: protocol.

INTRODUCTION: In the UK, approximately 4.3 million adults have asthma, with one-third experiencing poor asthma control, affecting their quality of life, and increasing their healthcare use. Interventions promoting emotional/behavioural self-management can improve asthma control and reduce comorbidities and mortality. Integration of online peer support into primary care services to foster self-management is a novel strategy. We aim to co-design and evaluate an intervention for primary care clinicians to promote engagement with an asthma online health community (OHC). Our protocol describes a 'survey leading to a trial' design as part of a mixed-methods, non-randomised feasibility study to test the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Adults on the asthma registers of six London general practices (~3000 patients) will be invited to an online survey, via text messages. The survey will collect data on attitudes towards seeking online peer support, asthma control, anxiety, depression, quality of life, information on the network of people providing support with asthma and demographics. Regression analyses of the survey data will identify correlates/predictors of attitudes/receptiveness towards online peer support. Patients with troublesome asthma, who (in the survey) expressed interest in online peer support, will be invited to receive the intervention, aiming to reach a recruitment target of 50 patients. Intervention will involve a one-off, face-to-face consultation with a practice clinician to introduce online peer support, sign patients up to an established asthma OHC, and encourage OHC engagement. Outcome measures will be collected at baseline and 3 months post intervention and analysed with primary care and OHC engagement data. Recruitment, intervention uptake, retention, collection of outcomes, and OHC engagement will be assessed. Interviews with clinicians and patients will explore experiences of the intervention. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval was obtained from a National Health Service Research Ethics Committee (reference: 22/NE/0182). Written consent will be obtained before intervention receipt and interview participation. Findings will be shared via dissemination to general practices, conference presentations and peer-reviewed publications. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT05829265.

Referral of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to pulmonary rehabilitation: a qualitative study of barriers and enablers for primary healthcare practitioners.

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is a cost-effective, internationally recommended intervention for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Referral is predominately led by primary healthcare practitioners (PHCPs), but referral and patient uptake is poor. AIM: To understand barriers and enablers for PHCPs when considering patient referral to PR, to explore the influence of patient characteristics, and to understand how referral rates may be increased. DESIGN AND SETTING: PHCPs who care for and refer patients with COPD to PR were purposively selected from general practices across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, and the West Midlands. METHOD: A qualitative study. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken to theme saturation, exploring PR referral. Images depicting patients with varying COPD severity were used to stimulate memory and associative recall. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed using rapid qualitative analysis. RESULTS: A total of 19 PHCPs were interviewed. Barriers to PR referral included limited awareness of the clinical benefits, little knowledge of local PR providers, consultation time constraints, and presumed low patient motivation. While practice nurses had the greatest knowledge, they still described difficulty in promoting PR. PHCPs frequently described assessing patient suitability based on presumed accessibility, social, and disease-specific characteristics rather than the clinical benefits of PR. Referrals were facilitated by financial incentives for the practice and positive feedback from patients and providers. CONCLUSION: There were more barriers to PR referral than enablers. Providers must engage better with PHCPs, patients with COPD, and carers, and actively promote PR. Increasing PHCPs' awareness of the benefits of PR, financial incentives, and alternative referral pathways should be considered.