Comparison of COPD primary care in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

Currently the National Asthma and COPD audit programme (NACAP) only undertakes audit of COPD primary care in Wales due to its near complete data coverage. We aimed to determine if the quality of COPD primary care in the other UK nations is comparable with Wales. We found that English, Scottish, and Northern Irish practices were significantly worse than Welsh practices at recording coded lung function parameters used in COPD diagnosis (ORs: 0.

Laboratory animal allergy is preventable in modern research facilities.

Background: Historical data suggest 15% of laboratory animal workers develop IgE sensitisation and 10% symptoms of laboratory animal allergy (LAA), including occupational asthma. Individually ventilated cages (IVCs) are replacing conventional open cages; we sought to evaluate their impact on the development of LAA.

Methods: We surveyed 750 laboratory animal workers and measured airborne Mus m 1 (mouse allergen) levels in seven UK institutions.

Prevalence of major comorbidities in subjects with COPD and incidence of myocardial infarction and stroke: a comprehensive analysis using data from primary care.

Background: Comorbidities associated with systemic inflammation including cardiovascular disease (CVD), stroke and diabetes mellitus (DM) are common among individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). A study was undertaken to quantify the burden of comorbidity and to determine the risk of first acute arteriovascular events among individuals with COPD.

Methods: The computerised primary care records of 1,204,100 members of the general population aged ≥ 35 years on 25 February 2005 were searched for recordings of each disease.