In this episode, we focus on the importance of early intervention required to prevent chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations and premature death with Dr Raja Murugesan, Clinical Lead for Respiratory Medicine both in Manchester and Greater Manchester.

Dr Raja Murugesan would like his take-home messages to be:

1. COPD in the UK still accounts for 30,000 deaths annually in the UK, however if we can act early, then we can prevent these deaths from happening and prevent unnecessary, emergency hospital admissions.
2. Even one moderate exacerbation can cause premature death so we need to be proactive in picking up these patients, getting the diagnosis right and have the correct interventions in place.

Useful links

• InterACT Video – COPD 101: essential knowledge
• InterACT Video – Virtual COPD clinical review

References

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2. British Lung Foundation. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) statistics. Available from: https://statistics.blf.org.uk/copd?_ga=2.219875801.1367299004.1527163268-1758129798.1527163268 (accessed August 2021)
3. NHS England. Overview of potential to reduce lives lost from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). 2014. Available from: https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/rm-fs-6.pdf (accessed August 2021)
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12. Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease. Global strategy for the diagnosis, management, and prevention of COPD: 2020 report. 2020. Available from: https://goldcopd.org (accessed August 2021)
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