The book includes recommendations for COPD from published guidelines (eg, the GOLD, ATS, and NICE guidelines) and presents them in the context of relevant clinical treatment issues. This is an in-depth guide on the management of COPD, concentrating on the impact of COPD on a patient as well as how healthcare professionals can intervene and educate the patient at an early stage and thereby slow the onset of severe symptoms.

Richard EK Russell, FRCP, PhD, is Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer at Imperial College, London, UK. He trained at Guys Hospital and then further in Respiratory Medicine in South London and the Royal Brompton Hospitals. He has been a Consultant at Wexham Park and Windsor Hospitals for 4 years with special interests in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), particularly its pathophysiology, asthma and delivery of care across the primary/secondary care interface. Dr Russell completed a PhD as a British Lung Foundation Research Fellow. The primary area of research was into basic mechanisms of COPD and disease progression in smokers in primary care. This is a continuing area of study for Dr Russell. He is active in the British Thoracic Society and the British Lung Foundation. Dr Russell is the lead from secondary care on the primary care quality outcomes framework national working party. Paul A Ford, MRCP, PhD, is MRC Senior Clinical Research Fellow at Imperial College and Honorary Clinical Fellow at the Royal Brompton, and Wexham and Heatherwood NHS trusts. Dr Ford qualified from St. Georges Hospital Medical School, London, in 1990 and completed his PhD in 2003 in Cellular Biology at Imperial College and Royal Brompton NHS trust. His thesis was primarily concerned with the role of the macrophage in airway inflammation, particularly COPD. Currently, he is working on developing novel pharmacological therapies for the treatment of COPD; in particular, modulating airway inflammation. Peter J Barnes, FMedSci, FRS, is Professor of Thoracic Medicine at Imperial College London, UK. Prof. Barnes runs a large and active multidisciplinary group of over 80 researchers exploring the mechanisms and treatment of asthma and more recently COPD. He has linked molecular and cell biology to clinical studies in order to understand the inflammatory process in airway disease and to understand the mechanisms of action of currently used drugs. He has also pioneered the use of noninvasive markers to monitor lung inflammation, which has enabled research into inflammatory mechanisms to be extended to patients with severe disease. Prof. Barnes has published over 1000 papers in peer-reviewed journals and has written, edited or co-edited over 30 books on airway diseases and lung pharmacology. He serves on the editorial boards of more than 20 international journals and on several national and international advisory boards, and is a member of the scientific committees for the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) and Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) guidelines. Sarah Russell qualified as a Nurse at Guys and Lewisham NHS Trust in 1989 and has worked in the primary, secondary and palliative care charity sector as a palliative care clinical nurse specialist, team leader and multi professional educator. Sarah has a particular interest in education, communication skills, advance care planning and palliative care of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Sarah is currently completing a 6 year part time Doctorate in Health Research involving a narrative video research methodology regarding advance care planning titled What would influence patients to discuss their preferences and wishes about care at the end of life.

Introduction.- Epidemiology, risk factors and pathophysiology.- The clinical consultation.- Management strategies.- Palliative care in COPD.- The future of COPD.