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World COPD Day 2008
Campaign Resources Top Tips Resources in Greek 3-Question COPD Survey

World COPD Day 2008Top tips for helping your patients tackle COPD

COPD is vastly under-diagnosed, often leading to a significant reduction in patients' quality of life and, in some cases, life expectancy. The World Health Organisation predicts COPD will become the third leading cause of death by 2030 if current trends continue.1 Primary care physicians are uniquely placed to effect real change for sufferers and those at risk. The following suggestions can be taken on board, to varying degrees, depending on the needs and resources of your practice and patients:
  • Raise awareness amongst ALL your patients of the risk of COPD by displaying the GOLD poster of symptoms in your office or practice.

  • Key message for patients: COPD will not go away but you can protect your quality of life by taking action with our help. Make use of the range of resources available for patients and their carers on improving quality of life for people with COPD.

  • Smoking: 4 out of 5 cases of COPD are smoking related. The ONLY thing that will slow the rate of progression of COPD and extend life expectancy is stopping smoking. The single most effective thing that you can do is to support your patients in their attempts to stop smoking


Remember that 40% of smokers make a quit attempt after even the briefest of advice sessions from a primary care physician. Every quit attempt counts.

    • Read our Tackling the smoking epidemic: IPCRG guidance on smoking cessation in primary care.

    • Use your practice or office as an advert to quit smoking. Make posters, such as IPCRG no smoking practice poster and leaflets highly visible and accessible through the surgery. Put a give up smoking message and quit-line number on all practice literature and patient correspondence. Engage all practice staff in getting information to smokers about quitting. Put the quit-line number on the telephone hold message for your office or practice

    • Ask each patient and record smoking status in medical records. This combined with the suggestions above can DOUBLE quit rates amongst your patients

    • Follow the 5 A's to help guide you and your patient through to quitting

    • Take a few minutes to understand the cycle of change process so that you are better equipped to target your advice to individual patient's needs and support those who want to or have quit

    • Use a motivational style to encourage patients to stop or stay stopped as it is the most effective way to engage patients. Reinforce your message with information about the impact on the body of stopping smoking.


    • Consider pharmacological support for patients who smoke more than 10 cigarettes a day

    • See the IPCRG Consensus statement: Tackling the smoking epidemic - practical guidance for primary care, for more on this and all the advice given here.

  • Use evidence based guidelines in clinical management of COPD as they offers better results for patients. See IPCRG Guidelines: Management of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. 

  • Educate patients about avoiding risk factors (besides smoking) by reducing occupational exposure as well as environmental pollution both indoors and outdoors.

  • Invest in pulmonary rehabilitation programmes. They help to considerably improve the quality of patients' lives and reduce exacerbations when a combination of exercise training, nutrition counselling and patient education is involved.

  • Encourage patients to walk or do appropriate levels of exercise. Reassure them that becoming breathless is not harmful and will be beneficial over even relatively short periods of time.

  • Be sensitive to the impact of COPD on patients' lives. Be ready to spot signs of anxiety and depression and offer the appropriate support. Remember the need to support social care as patients become increasingly disabled.

  • Exacerbations reduce quality of life and lung function over time. Recognise the signs including increased breathlessness, increased sputum volume, purulent sputum and other non-specific symptoms such as fever, fatigue, disturbed sleep or confusion.

  • Be aware that patients with very severe COPD are at risk of dying. Remember to consider their palliative care needs.


Useful COPD related resources

Reference
1World Health Organisation, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Fact Sheet, No 315, May 2008.

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Page updated on 30 October 2008

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