April 2024

Peer Reviewed Feature Articles
Women’s health

Managing asthma in pregnancy: new research and resources for GPs

Vanessa E. Murphy, Megan E. Jensen

Asthma is the most prevalent chronic disease affecting pregnant women. Educating women with asthma on the importance of continued use of their prescribed asthma medication in pregnancy is vital to help reduce and manage exacerbations during pregnancy, and optimise health outcomes for mother and baby.

Infectious diseases

Community-acquired pneumonia: GP care after the pandemic

Lewis E Holmes, Lucy Morgan

Management decisions for patients with community-acquired pneumonia include whether to treat them in the community or send them to hospital, what antibiotics to prescribe, what investigations to order, and how to follow up.

Respiratory medicine

Non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis in a primary care setting: what do GPs need to know?

Tia Ozarczuk, Tim Whitmore

Bronchiectasis involves permanent widening of the airways, which can cause breathlessness, sputum production and a productive cough, among other symptoms. The mainstays of management include preserving lung function, minimising respiratory exacerbations, alleviating symptoms, preventing complications and optimising patient quality of life.

Peer Reviewed Regular Series
Perspectives

Nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease – a clinical challenge

Victoria Grey, Rachel Thomson

Clinical, radiological and microbiological criteria must be met to diagnose nontuberculous mycobacteria pulmonary disease. Treatment is lengthy, requiring multiple antibiotics, and should be guided by a specialist experienced in mycobacterial disease.

Perspectives

Severe asthma: what’s new in management?

Alice Crawford, John D Blakey, Li Ping Chung

Severe asthma is a rapidly evolving area of medicine. Case finding through machine learning, integrating clinical decision support tools and improving access to smart inhaler technology are feasible ways to optimise asthma care using available technology.

Physician-authored summaries and commentary on the most important medical research, provided by the NEJM Group, a division of the Massachusetts Medical Society.

© Massachusetts Medical Society