Dransfield adds that this includes several key recommendations , including to classify the disease based on five types , four of which have nothing to do with smoking , and to move away from spirometry as the only acceptable test for diagnosis to identify early and perhaps reversible disease .
According to the World Health Organization , COPD is the third leading cause of death worldwide , causing 3.23 million deaths in 2019 .
? The publication of the commission ? s findings is only the beginning of our work , and we will push to help implement our work , and we will push to help implement our recommendations ,? he said . ? We intentionally gave metrics with the recommendations as it adds accountability for us all , and we intend to report the progress over the coming years , even if we fail to achieve the goals .?
UAB Offers Bronchoscopy with Cone Beam CT Imaging by Adam Pope
The University of Alabama at Birmingham is the first hospital in Alabama to offer real-time Cone Beam CT imaging during bronchoscopies using the Cios Spin System by Siemens Healthineers .
Previously , doctors navigated to a lung nodule using information from a CT scan of the chest taken prior to the procedure .
? This system will now allow us to get real-time CT-like images during the procedure so we can know exactly where our instruments are relative to our target within the lung ,? said Hitesh Batra , M . D ., director of the Interventional Pulmonology and Pleural Disease Program at UAB Medicine . ? We can then readjust our approach based on this information .?
Batra adds that another benefit is that the system can further improve accuracy and diagnostic yield , beyond the remarkable improvement they have already seen
MedCast : New Lung Cancer Screening Guidelines
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States and the second most common malignancy in both men and women . Aline Zouk , M . D ., explains that many of these deaths are preventable via early low-dose CT scan screening among smokers and early-stage treatment . Because survival rates increase dramatically with earlier detection , the U . S . Preventive Services Task Force has updated its guidelines for screening ? now , around 14 million Americans are recommended to receive yearly screenings . Dr . Zouk explains how the guidelines account for pack-years and age . The challenge for physicians , notes Zouk , is to encourage screening for patients before they exhibit any symptoms .
Listen to this and other UAB MedCast at uabmedicine . org / medcast .
using the Ion robotic bronchoscopy system by Intuitive .
? This will prepare us for the possibility of ablation of lung cancer via bronchoscopy in the near future ,? Batra said . ? To be able to ablate a lung nodule , we will need to know exactly where our tools are relative to the nodule , which is nearly impossible to do without 3D imaging like this during the procedure . This will be an entirely new treatment option for patients with lung cancer .?
Batra is an associate professor in the UAB Marnix E . Heersink School of Medicine .
Photography : Steve Wood
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