COPD 2: management and nursing care

Abstract

Most nurses, not just specialist nurses, will routinely encounter people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in their care. Although there is no cure for this progressive respiratory disease, nurses have a crucial role in its treatment and management, including helping patients to minimise and control their symptoms, and improve the quality of their lives. This article, the second in a two-part series, describes treatment and management options when patients are stable and during events, such as exacerbations, when their condition deteriorates. It describes the safe, effective use of inhaled and oral drug treatments and oxygen therapy, as well as non-pharmacological interventions - such as smoking cessation, pulmonary rehabilitation - support for mental health and helping patients to self manage.

This article has been double-blind peer reviewed

In this article…

• Safe and effective use of inhaled and oral pharmacological therapies

• The value of pulmonary rehabilitation

• Supporting patients to self manage

Key points

Nurses have a central role in the care and management of people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Inhaled bronchodilators are the mainstay of drug therapy

Support for smoking cessation can be important in slowing the progression of the disease

Too few patients are referred for pulmonary rehabilitation despite evidence of its effectiveness

Use of self-management plans has been shown to improve patients’ quality of life, while also reducing breathlessness and hospitalisation