Early detection of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in primary care patients.

Introduction: Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are often unrecognized and undertreated. The aim of this study was to describe the frequency of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma in primary care patients in Serbia, and to examine the agreement between general practitioners and pulmonologists on the diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma.

Material And Methods: In this multicenter observational study, the general practitioners identified eligible patients from October 2009 to June 2010.

Asthma and chronic bronchitis symptoms among adult population of Belgrade.

Introduction: Over the last three decades the prevalence of respiratory diseases has been increasing worldwide thus increasing economic burden on the healthcare system. Recent studies have shown that the prevalence of asthma in West European countries ranges from 6-9%, while of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) is 8.0% worldwide.

[Home-based exercise training in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease].

Introduction: The role of rehabilitation programmes in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients is to lower dyspnoea, improve exercise tolerance and quality of life.

Objective: We have developed a short-course, home-based, rehabilitation programme of physical exercise for lower limb muscles, based on walking at patients' fastest pace. The aim of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of such a programme regarding the exercise tolerance, pulmonary functions and quality of life.

[Disorders of pulmonary gas diffusion in liver cirrhosis].

Unlabelled: There is no consensus on the pathogenesis and incidence of diffusion disorder in chronic liver diseases. It is supposed that the pathogenic mechanisms responsible for the reduction of diffusion capacity in liver diseases are multifactorial, including: ventilation-perfusion mismatching, diffuse interstitial pulmonary diseases and reduced transitory time in hyperperfused lung areas [1]. The increase of diffusion of oxygen molecules within dilated blood vessels during the inspiration of 100% O2 in patients with liver cirrhosis is called "diffusion-perfusion defect" or "alveolar-capillary oxygen disequilibrium" [3].