AMDA Foundation - COPD and LTC: New Research Wanted

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Vol XI, Jan `05

COPD and LTC: New Research Wanted

Vol XI, Jan `05

The time is right for research on COPD. "We are just beginning to see a lot of clinical research on COPD," said William Bailey, MD, Director of the Lung Health Center and Professor of Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. "We will see much more in the next 5-10 years," he predicted. At this point in time, Bailey suggested, "we understand that excellent bronchodilation can have a tremendous impact on the progression of COPD. We believe that if we can reduce the frequency of exacerbations, we can slow the progression of disease. However, we haven't documented this yet in research studies."

Bailey would like to see more research on the disease, including studies from LTC practitioners. "COPD is the fourth leading cause of death and rising on the list," he noted. He added that to keep the disease in check, it is important to learn more about how anti-inflammatory drugs influence the course of disease.

"I'd like to see where negative attitudes exist about the potential to effectively treat COPD and how we can address these with education," Bailey explained. "We need to overcome these attitudes," he further offered. He also suggested the usefulness of studies that address practitioner and caregiver attitudes about the origin of COPD. "I suspect that some people think of the disease as being self-inflicted by patients who smoke cigarettes or make other poor lifestyle choices. Again, we need to know where these attitudes exist and address them with education," he stated. Finally, he suggested a need for studies that focus on spirometry in long term care.