Improving the Management and Care of COPD Patients: A Clinical Conversation

Program Description:

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a group of lung diseases characterized by progressive and irreversible airflow obstruction that interferes with normal breathing. These include chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Although there is a genetic component, smoking, environmental pollution, and toxins are the most common causes of COPD. COPD is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. Approximately 20% of outpatient clinic visits, 22% of visits to specialists, and 36% of visits to generalists are COPD related. It is the only major disease with an increasing death rate, rising by more than 16% over a 20-year period. COPD is the third leading cause of death and disability in the U.S. In 2007, 124,477 deaths from COPD were reported.

According to the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) recommendations, effective management of COPD includes disease assessment and monitoring, reduction of risk factors, management of stable COPD, and management of exacerbations. However, COPD often goes unrecognized, even though it can be diagnosed easily and reliably with simple spirometry. Spirometry is the gold standard for diagnosing COPD because it is the most standardized and reproducible measurement of reduced airflow.

This activity will review the epidemiology and pathology of COPD; discuss the proper way to diagnose COPD, using spirometry to identify the GOLD stage of the disease; and present current evidence-based guidelines for the management of COPD, including exacerbations.

INTENDED AUDIENCE:

This activity has been designed to meet the educational needs of primary care physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and others involved in the care of patients with COPD and asthma.

Activity Objectives:

Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to:

• Describe the epidemiology, prevalence, and pathology of COPD


• Evaluate the benefits of COPD therapy in improving symptoms and decreasing exacerbations


• Integrate current guidelines for COPD diagnosis and management into improved diagnosis and management of COPD patients


• Explain the benefits and controversies of using spirometry for COPD screening


• Develop a comprehensive management plan for COPD patients that encompasses preventive, pharmacologic, and nonpharmacologic interventions to optimally reduce the frequency of exacerbations and minimize the impact of COPD


• Integrate new and emerging agents to help prevent and treat COPD exacerbations

Faculty:

Neil R. MacIntyre, MD—Activity Chair
Clinical Chief, Pulmonary/Critical Care Division
Medical Director, Respiratory Care Services
Professor of Medicine
Duke University
Durham, North Carolina

Ben Taylor, PhD, PA-C
Clinical Faculty
Physician Assistant Department
Georgia Health Sciences University
Augusta, Georgia

Disclosures:

In accordance with the ACCME Standards for Commercial Support, all CME providers are required to disclose to the activity audience the relevant financial relationships of everyone in a position to control content of an educational activity. A relevant financial relationship is a relationship in any amount occurring in the last 12 months with a commercial interest whose products or services are discussed in the CME activity content over which the individual has control. Relationship information appears below:

Faculty
Neil R. MacIntyre, MD, has disclosed the following relevant financial relationships:
Speakers Bureau: Forest Laboratories, Pfizer

Ben Taylor, PA-C, PhD, has disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

Curatio CME Institute
Daniel Duch, PhD, Medical Director, has disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

Jonathan S. Simmons, ELS, Senior Managing Editor, has disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

Unapproved Product Use
This educational activity may contain discussion of published and/or investigational uses of agents that are not indicated by the US Food and Drug Administration. Curatio CME Institute, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Forest Research Institute do not recommend the use of any agent outside the labeled indications.

The opinions expressed in this educational activity are those of the faculty and do not necessarily represent the views of Curatio CME Institute, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., or Forest Research Institute. Please refer to the official prescribing information for each product for discussion of approved indications, contraindications, and warnings.

Disclaimer
The information presented in this activity is for continuing medical education purposes only and is not meant to substitute for the independent medical judgment of a physician regarding diagnosis and treatment of a specific patient’s medical condition.

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Accredited Provider:

Sponsored by Curatio CME Institute

Commercial Supporter:

Support for this activity has been provided through educational grants from Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Forest Research Institute, a subsidiary of Forest Laboratories.

Instructions:

Method of Participation
To obtain credit, a score of 70% or better is required on the post-test. This CME is offered at no cost to participants. Please proceed with the activity until you have successfully completed this program, answered all pre-test questions, post-test questions, completed the evaluation survey, and have received your digital copy of your credit certificate. Your online certificate will be saved on myCME.com within your Profile/Exam History, which you can then access at any time.

If you have any questions relating to the accreditation for this activity, please e-mail any questions to cmeinfo@curatiocme.com.

If you have any other questions relating to this activity, please contact myCME.Support@haymarketmedical.com.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:

WINDOWS PC SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
266-MHz Pentium II; Windows 98 or higher; 64 MB RAM; 800 x 600 screen resolution set for “High Color (16-Bit)”; Macromedia Flash Player 6 or higher.

MACINTOSH^® SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
Power Mac g3 at 300 MHz; System 8.5 or higher (excluding Mac OSX); 96 MB RAM; 20 MB minimum hard disk space available; 800 x 600 screen resolution set to “Thousands of Colors”; Macromedia Flash Player 6 or higher.