Volume: 22 Issue: 4

This article describes a case involving a 52-year-old woman with idiopathic scoliosis who was referred to the authors? centre for an unresolving pneumonia. Implementation of a targeted screening program to detect airflow obstruction suggestive of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease within a presurgical screening clinicChronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) affects a significant proportion of the population =40 years of age, and is a leading cause of hospitalization, emergency department visits and mortality. Unfortunately, however, COPD appears to be underdiagnosed and is poorly controlled in many individuals. Therefore, early detection of COPD can mitigate the severity of primary symptoms and enable the implementation of secondary preventive strategies including healthy lifestyle changes. Prompted by indications that complications of COPD could be avoided by early screening in at-risk individuals, this quality assurance study aimed to assess the effectiveness and feasibility of such a program. Use of electronic data and existing screening tools to identify clinically significant obstructive sleep apneaThe presence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has been associated with many negative health outcomes, increased risk for motor vehicle collisions, reduced quality of life and high medical costs. OSA is likely undiagnosed in a significant proportion of the population, but is more prevalent in men than in women. However, no prediction rules to detect clinically significan...
Source: Canadian Respiratory Journal - Category: Respiratory Medicine Source Type: research