New COPD Review published in Cochrane - NUIG School of Nursing & Midwifery

The review was led by a team from NUI Galway's School of Nursing and Midwifery based in Áras Moyola.

Pulmonary Rehabilitation is a non-pharmacological intervention for patients with Chronic Obstructive Airways Disease (COPD) and its effectiveness was confirmed in a Cochrane Review which has generated major interest across the world. (Click here to view Abstract)

The review was led by a team from the School of Nursing and Midwifery at the National University of Ireland Galway. The team consisted of Bernard McCarthy, Dr Dympna Casey, Professor Declan Devane, Professor Kathy Murphy, Edel Murphy and the internationally renowned Canadian pulmonologist Dr Yves Lacasse. The two-year project brought together the findings of 65 randomised control trials involving 3822 participants for inclusion in the analysis.

COPD is a chronic lung disease that causes obstruction in breathing. This results in persistent and progressive breathlessness, productive coughing, fatigue and recurrent chest infection. Worldwide, COPD is a major cause of long term health issues. The World Health Organisation projects that by the year 2030 it will be the third most frequent cause of death globally.

Bernard McCarthy, NUI Galway, the lead author explains: “At this time, COPD is an incurable, life-limiting condition that is associated with significant economic costs due to progressive disease severity and frequent hospital admissions and readmissions. Our findings from pooling all the international research demonstrate that pulmonary rehabilitation has a significant positive effect. Pulmonary rehabilitation which includes exercise as a key component and may also include assessment, education, psychological support and dietary advice, has been shown to relieve breathing difficulty and fatigue and improves individuals’ sense of control over their condition. These all lead to a better quality of life for individuals with COPD, facilitating them to re-engage with their normal lives.”

View full text of the Cochrane Review :Pulmonary rehabilitation for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

View full Press Release here

Network of care improving outcomes for sufferers of Parkinson’s disease

A new approach to care is transforming the lives of patients with Parkinson’s disease and has promise for other long term conditions like COPD and rheumatoid arthritis, according to Dutch researchers writing in the BMJ.

Evidence suggests it empowers patients, improves the quality of care, shifts care away from institutions and into the community, and lowers healthcare costs.

Parkinson’s disease is a common and disabling neurodegenerative disorder. Most patients live with the disease for many years and the burden on patients and carers is considerable.

ParkinsonNet is a model where care is delivered by a network of specially trained professionals who collaborate through a dedicated online platform to which patients also have access. It was developed to tackle concerns of insufficient training for health professionals and poor communication between them and their patients.

Through the platform, patients can find information about treatment options and the trained professionals they need to help them. They are also given the option of having consultations in their own homes through secure video links.

Since its introduction in 2004, ParkinsonNet has now expanded to 66 regional networks and almost 3000 trained experts from 15 different disciplines covering the whole of the Netherlands.

View article: Revolutionising management of chronic disease: the ParkinsonNet approach  BMJ 2014; 348 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.g1838 (Published 19 March 2014

View more information on IMT here

One in 25 Irish people at risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

One in 25 Irish people are at risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) due to a combination of inherited genes and exposure to cigarette smoke, a new study has found.

The study, by researchers from the Alpha One Foundation, the Royal College of Surgeons (RCSI) and Harvard University, is published this month in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

The debilitating lung condition is linked to alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (alpha-1), an inherited condition affecting almost 250,000 people in this country.

Alpha-1 antitrypsin is a protein which protects the lungs and people with lower than normal amounts of this protein are at an increased risk of developing COPD.

Doctors leading the research are urging people diagnosed with COPD - an estimated 440,000 people - to get tested for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency through a free national screening programme.

Professor Gerry McElvaney, Professor of Medicine at RCSI, principal investigator and chairman of the Alpha One Foundation Ireland said the research was a major breakthrough in understanding the heightened risk of COPD for people with have the combination of one normal and one abnormal alpha-1 antitrypsin gene.

Read abstract here

View full article in Irish Times here

Galway University Hospitals to mark World COPD Day on 20 November

World COPD Awareness Day takes place on Wednesday 20 November and to support this event the Respiratory Services at Galway University Hospitals (GUH) are holding an information day from 10:00am to 4:00pm in the main foyer of University Hospital Galway. 

COPD is a general term for a number of chronic lung disorders including bronchitis, emphysema and chronic obstructive airway disease. It is estimated that 440,000 people in Ireland suffer from COPD and the most common cause of COPD is smoking. If COPD is detected early, treatments are available to prevent further deterioration of lung function.

The theme for this year’s World COPD Day is ‘It’s not too late'.  GUH Consultant Respiratory Physician Dr Rutherford says “Early detection and intervention is extremely important in order to improve symptoms and increase the patient’s quality of life and slow down the damage to the lungs".

Click here to view HSE press release