In this worldwide pandemic, there is nothing more important than protecting your patients from COVID-19, the highly infectious virus that targets the lungs. Smoking increases the risk of COVID-19 related complications due to decreased lung function. This means those who smoke are more susceptible to contracting a more severe case of COVID-19, and have higher…
What began with a handful of mysterious illnesses in a vast central China city has traveled the world, jumping from animals to humans and from obscurity to international headlines. First detected on the last day of 2019, the novel coronavirus has infected tens of thousands of people — within China’s borders and beyond them — and has…
Statin use was linked with a significant reduction in the risk of hospitalized exacerbations after an initial hospitalized exacerbation among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including specified frequent exacerbators, according to study findings published in the International Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. In patients with COPD, comorbidities such as cardiovascular disease (CVD) and hypertension are common and…
Data from digital inhalers reveals an increased use of rescue inhalers for asthma symptoms due to short-term exposure to ozone, even below the ozone level set by the EPA. New data from digital inhalers confirms that exposure to the air pollutant ozone is strongly linked to increased use of inhaled medications for asthma symptoms, according…
Former smokers and people who smoke relatively few cigarettes per day may experience a faster decline in lung function than people who have never smoked, although they still have a slower decline in lung function than current smokers, a new study suggests. The study, “Lung function decline in former smokers and low-intensity current smokers: a…
High levels of ozone and wood smoke each increase the risk for lung diseases like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) among smokers and nonsmokers alike, two new studies find. People with COPD gradually lose their ability to draw a decent breath. Cigarette smoking is the leading cause, but COPD also can be caused by regular…
New evidence shows that legitimate THC vaping products are also making people sick, meaning that illegal, off-brand vapes aren’t the only products to blame for the current outbreak of vaping-related illnesses. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health reports that at least six patients suspected of having the vaping lung illness purchased THC products at licensed…
Another 121 people have fallen ill, and three more people have died from a vaping lung disease that has now sickened 2,172 people and killed 42, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said November 14th. Federal health officials have been trying to control an outbreak of a mysterious lung disease since the summer. They’re…