COPD decision tool helps keep patients safe

By Amelia Buchanan Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) often come to the Emergency Department gasping for breath. These flare-ups can usually be treated safely in the ED, but sometimes they can lead to serious complications. That’s why Dr. Ian Stiell created a decision tool to help doctors accurately predict which patients were the most likely to suffer complications. A recent study published in CMAJ found that The Ottawa COPD Risk Scale is better than current practice at predicting these short-term risks. Now this made-in-Ottawa tool can be used by doctors around the world to help choose the best care for their patients with COPD. “Before this tool, there was no way to know if a patient who came to the Emergency

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