Take My Breath Away: Challenging Asthma Diagnoses & Home Non-Invasive Ventilation in COPD

What if you could tell an adult with physician diagnosed asthma that they could safely stop their asthma medications? Or, tell an adult living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) that the addition of home non-invasive ventilation could significantly prolong their lifespan? This week on The Rounds Table Kieran and Ariel discuss two thought provoking studies.

In clinical practice, asthma management is not always straightforward. Although it is a chronic disease, the stability of the diagnosis and the rate of spontaneous remission is unknown. Additionally, in practice, asthma is often diagnosed clinically without formalized spirometry testing. In a March 2017 episode of The Rounds Table, Amol covered a prospective multi-centre cohort study re-evaluating the diagnosis of asthma in adults with a pre-existing physician diagnosis to determine if the diagnosis could be ruled out in some cases and asthma medications safety stopped. Ariel looks back at the same study in this episode.

Next, COPD is one of the leading reasons for admission to hospital. The clinical course is marked by frequent exacerbations that can lead to the need for ventilator support. Readmission is very common. Kieran leads the discussion on a trial investigating the effect of the addition of home non-invasive ventilation on time to readmission or death in patients with persistent hypercapnia after an acute COPD exacerbation.

Finally, it wouldn’t be The Rounds Table without the Good Stuff segment. Is curiosity a positive or negative feeling? How is a new sexual health app changing lives? Kieran and Ariel cover what they’re reading about in the news.

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