Princess Leonor University Hospital celebrates World COPD Day

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a respiratory disease characterized by persistent and often progressive airflow obstruction, primarily caused by smoking. Early diagnosis and treatment can help prevent disease progression and improve patients’ quality of life. It is also worth emphasizing the importance of environmental pollution and its impact on disease.

The most common symptoms are shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, chronic cough, frequent bronchitis, tiredness or fatigue, phlegm passing in the morning, and chest pain when coughing. As COPD progresses, symptoms worsen and it becomes difficult to perform certain daily activities due to shortness of breath. However, exercise, even at light or moderate intensity, can improve a patient’s overall health, which is why it is one of the main non-pharmacological measures, along with smoking cessation and a healthy diet, to help prevent cancer. This disease.

Care and Respiratory Rehabilitation Program for Patients with COPD

The Pulmonology Department at Princess Leonor University Hospital provides care for patients with COPD at all stages of the disease. In a multidisciplinary consultation dedicated to the disease, clinical assessment, blood gases and respiratory function testing are performed on the same day, reducing the need for emergency room visits and hospitalization.

It also provides smoking cessation counseling, specific treatments for the most severe patients, including non-invasive mechanical ventilation, and a multidisciplinary respiratory rehabilitation program for chronic respiratory disease patients at Infanta Leonor-Virgen de la Torre Hospital, which helps reduce the risk of Number of complications suffered and readmissions. Pulmonologists, rehabilitation therapists, physiotherapists, professional nurses, occupational therapists, nutritionists and clinical psychologists participate in the program. The service has a strong record of teaching and research in the field of COPD, being involved in a variety of projects about the disease.