PG12 - COPD - diagnosis, pathogenesis and the role of primary relative to secondary care in management

Postgraduate Course
Chairs: B. Balbi (Gussago, Italy), S. Hill (Birmingham, United Kingdom)
Aims: This is the first course in a three-year postgraduate core curriculum covering the main issues on COPD, from the pathology to the current treatments offered. The aims of this first module in the series are:
• to review and discuss problems in disease definition, diagnosis and staging;
• to describe the pathology and mechanisms;
• to address the management of earlier stages of disease, including pharmacological approaches, and the causes and treatment of acute exacerbations;
• to discuss the role of primary relative to secondary care in patient management.

Initial diagnosis and management of COPD - the role of primary care and when to refer M. L. Levy (Kenton, United Kingdom)