BMJ  2004;329:361-363 (14 August), doi:10.1136/bmj.329.7462.361

Editorial

Guidelines for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

NICE guidelines are evidence based but will need regular updating

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Faced with a plethora of guidelines, doctors in primary and secondary care may well ask, why another guideline and particularly a guideline for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and how is it going to affect practice?

Guidelines from the Global Initiative in Obstructive Lung Disease were updated in 2003.¹ The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) published a guideline earlier this year.² New guidelines from the European Respiratory Society and American Thoracic Society appeared recently (www.thoracic.org/copd). The existence of so many guidelines reflects the increasing recognition of the burden of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease both on patients and on healthcare resources. Whereas the condition was considered to have few therapeutic options previously, it is now considered treatable, and over the past five years increasing evidence supports pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments. This article discusses the guideline published for NICE by the National Collaborating Centre for Chronic Conditions and many . . . [Full text of this article]

Edinburgh Lung and the Environment Group Initiative (ELEGI), Colt Research Laboratories, Medical Research Council Centre for Inflammation Research, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland EH8 9AG (w.macnee@ed.ac.uk)

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