Moves to enshrine self-care as a central part of the NHS efficiency drive have suffered a serious blow after a US trial in COPD had to be halted early because of a spike in mortality in patients encouraged to manage their own condition.

GPs will be tasked with going through their records to find anyone aged over 35 who may have COPD, under Government guidance issued to CCG leaders.

Mindfulness training produces clinically significant improvements in quality of life and stress that are equivalent to those seen with inhalers in patients with asthma, a US trial has found.

GPs should check job-related causes of asthma to catch occupational asthma early, say guidelines from the Royal College of Physicians have recommended.

Respiratory specialists Dr Bernadette O’Connor and Professor Michael Shields give practical hints on teasing out a diagnosis

Our round-up of the latest clinical guidelines and advice for GPs

Dr Keith Hopcroft describes the signs that made him suspect this was more serious than a COPD exacerbation

GP Dr David Bellamy offers expert advice on distinguishing between these two respiratory conditions

Respiratory physicians Dr Hasan Arshad and Dr Suresh Babu answer questions from GP Dr David Morris on ‘safer’ steroids, long-acting ß-agonists and making asthma action plans work

With the nation braced for a swine flu epidemic either now or in the autumn, respiratory physicians Dr Thomas Bewick and Dr Wei Shen Lim provide a timely reminder of the complications of influenza

Respiratory physicians Dr Mahendran Chetty and Dr Graeme Currie answer GP Dr Pam Brown’s questions on reversibility testing, pneumonia risk with high-dose steroids and managing extrapulmonary manifestations