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Interactive quizzes are based on material found in Best Practice Journal and Best Tests. Initially, quizzes are posted out with journals and GPs are invited to submit their answers for CME credits.
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Accelerated silicosis has recently emerged as a serious occupational health condition mainly affecting people working with artificial... View Article
Over-the-counter cough medicines, although widely used, are not particularly effective at reducing the severity or duration of... View Article
Dyspnoea is commonly experienced by people who are nearing the end of life. Once reversible causes have been addressed, management... View Article
Excessive respiratory secretions result when the person becomes too weak to clear their airways in the last days of life. The... View Article
Transitioning from active treatment to post-treatment care is an important milestone in the long-term health of people who have... View Article
Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers in New Zealand and the leading cause of cancer death. By the time of diagnosis,... View Article
New national guidelines for the management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) were published by the Asthma + Respiratory... View Article
Cyanobacteria, also referred to as blue-green algae, are micro-organisms that live in freshwater and marine environments. Under... View Article
The recently released New Zealand adolescent and adult asthma guidelines contain a new stepwise treatment pathway that recommends... View Article
Wheeze in children aged under five years is common and often triggered by viral illness, even in children who do not go on to... View Article
This tool provides pharmacological treatment options for patients with COPD based on their symptom severity. Choose category... View Article
Bronchiectasis is a lung disease characterised by bronchial dilation, chronic inflammation and infection, which can lead to permanent... View Article
With winter upon us, it is timely to reflect on antibiotic prescribing practices for respiratory tract infections (RTIs) and associated... View Article
For the majority of people with upper respiratory tract infections symptomatic treatment will offer better outcomes than antibiotics,... View Article
The bpacnz COPD prescribing tool was developed based on the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD 2016)... View Article
The 2017 edition of the bpacnz antibiotics guide; "Antibiotics: choices for common infections", is now available online. There... View Article
Pulmonary rehabilitation is a behavioural intervention for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) that improves... View Article
Bronchiolitis is a lower respiratory tract infection, most often caused by Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). In severe illness... View Article
If a patient using an inhaled corticosteroid for asthma has symptoms which are not adequately controlled, clinicians should consider... View Article
The New Zealand adult asthma guidelines were released by the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation of New Zealand in November, 2016.... View Article
A key decision in asthma management is when to initiate an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS). It is clear that patients with weekly... View Article
In March, 2016, subsidy changes came into effect for medicines used to treat patients with COPD. The large number of changes created... View Article
Updated asthma guidelines are expected to be released later in 2016. This report provides an update on the treatment of patients... View Article
Subsidy changes for medicines used to treat patients with COPD came into effect on March 1, 2016. In this article we discuss how... View Article
The risks and benefits of treatment with inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) are different for individual patients with COPD. There... View Article
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Māori and Pacific peoples in New Zealand are disproportionately affected by asthma, but the level of care they receive does not... View Article
Appropriate prescribing of antibiotics for patients with respiratory tract infections (RTI) is a key component of improving antimicrobial... View Article
Delayed antibiotic prescribing, also known as a “back pocket prescription”, is a strategy of providing a patient with a prescription... View Article
Point-of-care CRP testing may help primary care clinicians to identify with more certainty which patients with features of respiratory... View Article
The interventions with the greatest potential to prevent further deterioration in patients with COPD are: View Article
Shorter courses of oral corticosteroids for the management of exacerbations in patients with COPD | Diet and the risk of COPD View Article
In late 2011 we published an article on end-of-life care for patients with respiratory failure, contributed by Professor D. Robin... View Article
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) affects approximately one in seven New Zealanders aged over 40 years, and is the... View Article
This article contains some information on the use of inhaled medicines for COPD treatment that is no longer current. More recent... View Article
This article has been archived. If you would like access to the original article please contact: editor@bpac.org.nz View Article
Wheeze in children aged less than five years has many potential causes. Often it is regarded as the first sign of asthma, however,... View Article
A newer article is available on this subject: Cold season: managing without antibiotics Every year New Zealanders spend significant... View Article
Obstructive sleep apnoea affects many adults in New Zealand, and is especially common among Māori and Pacific peoples. Moderate... View Article
Lung cancer in New Zealand: overcoming barriers View Article
Breathlessness is a complex and subjective symptom that is commonly experienced by people who are nearing the end of life. Once... View Article
Bronchiectasis is a lung disease characterised by irreversible bronchial dilation and chronic inflammation, resulting in chronic... View Article
Bronchiolitis is the most common lower respiratory tract infection in infants, and between 2006 and 2010 accounted for almost... View Article
This article is out of date. Please see: Pertussis: halting the epidemic by protecting infants for updated information New... View Article
Pneumonia is a significant cause of hospitalisation and mortality among both children and adults in New Zealand. Māori and... View Article
New Zealand has one of the highest rates of childhood asthma in the world. It is the leading cause of sleep disturbance, missed... View Article
COPD disproportionately affects Māori and Pacific peoples in New Zealand. It is essential that people most at risk of COPD... View Article
New Zealand has one of the highest rates of childhood asthma in the developed world. It is the leading cause of sleep disturbance,... View Article
People with COPD are generally underweight, have reduced muscle mass and are often malnourished, leading to other health problems.... View Article
Invasive pneumococcal disease caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae can result in life-threatening pneumonia, meningitis and septicaemia.... View Article
When asthma is well controlled during pregnancy, there is little or no increased risk of adverse maternal or foetal complications.... View Article
In most developed countries the incidence of bronchiectasis has declined over the years. View Article
Children who cough are frequently seen in general practice. The challenge is to determine what is “normal” cough from... View Article
The short answer is no. There is little evidence that cough and cold preparations have any clinically significant effect on reducing... View Article
The majority of people with cancer will initially present to general practice, therefore GPs have an excellent opportunity to... View Article
Seasonal allergic rhinitis, more commonly known as hay fever, can have a significant impact on quality of life. Asthma often co-exists... View Article
An update on COPD; acute exacerbations management, adapted from COPD-X Guidelines; April 2009 revision There is newer/updated... View Article
Te huango o te tamaitiA short overview of childhood asthma, best practice special edition and decision support module. View Article
In healthy people influenza is usually self-limiting and uncomplicated however for some groups of people it can be a significant... View Article
The asthma & respiratory foundation of New Zealand has developed a revised version of its self-management plan for asthma. View Article
Intermittent or persistent asthma? Which inhaled corticosteroid? The role of long acting beta-2 agonists (LABA). Role of nebulisers... View Article
To compliment the childhood asthma decision support tool. This guide is based on the New Zealand childhood asthma guidelines and... View Article
Māori and Pacific children with asthma suffer more severe symptoms than other children, are hospitalised more frequently... View Article
References and bibliography View Article
This desktop prompt has been used extensively by GPs, practice nurses and asthma educators in Wellington and surrounding areas.... View Article
Asthma education of the child and the family should lead to an understanding of good control of asthma and the role of medications... View Article
Bronchiolitis is the most common lower respiratory tract infection seen in infants aged less than one year. The bronchiolitis... View Article
Influenza is a highly infectious acute respiratory disease. Influenza vaccination is the most effective protection. The vaccine... View Article
There are many reasons why people begin smoking, continue to smoke and find it hard to quit. Clinicians who want to discourage... View Article
Anaphylaxis is a potentially fatal hypersensitivity reaction, characterised by rapid onset of life-threatening respiratory and... View Article
Two recent studies have raised concern that the use of ipratropium and tiotropium for COPD is associated with an increased risk... View Article
Nebulisers are used to deliver bronchodilators to people with asthma or COPD or antibiotics to those with bronchiectasis. There... View Article
Reducing inequalities in asthma care for children. View Article
Varenicline and suicidal behaviour. Wider access to quit cards.The lung age of smokers. View Article
Māori children with asthma have greater hospital admission rates, present with more severe symptoms and require more days... View Article
Managing COPD continues to be a major feature of primary care, particularly in practices with a high proportion of Māori... View Article
In view of the recent promotion of the SMART regimen, the use of inhalers containing a combination of a long acting beta agonist... View Article
Can Sumatriptan be used safely with SSRIs? Can you ever use beta-blockers in someone with a history of Asthma? View Article
Revisits the main points of our respiratory infections campaign with feedback on its impact and discusses the question ‘Is... View Article
Bronchiolitis | Cough in children | Fever in children | Acute gastroenteritis in children | Acute asthma in children aged 1-15... View Article
In this article we pose four scenarios and asked Respiratory Physician, Professor Robin Taylor to discuss what he would advise... View Article
Studies suggest that the majority of children with asthma do not have good control. This appears to be associated with low asthma... View Article
This audit is designed to identify people in your practice on LABAs in order to discuss their Asthma Management Plans and ICS... View Article
Long acting beta agonists (LABAs) are useful drugs in asthma management however they should only be prescribed for patients who... View Article
Tiotropium is an effective option | Long acting beta agonists | Inhaled corticosteroids | Exercise | Should an anticholinergic... View Article
Is it safe to use beta-blockers for cardiac disease in people with COPD? View Article
A brief overview of the recently released Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ guidelines on the management of asthma in children;... View Article