This edition of FP Essentials covers several important lung disease topics that can have a substantial impact on our patients’ health and well-being. Early detection and proper management are key for improving outcomes and preventing complications.

Section One focuses on pulmonary hypertension, which is thought to affect about 1% of the global population and about 10% of adults older than 65 years. Because symptoms are nonspecific and overlap with other pulmonary and cardiac conditions, a high index of clinical suspicion is needed to prevent delay in diagnosis. I was interested to learn about advances in pharmacotherapy for pulmonary hypertension, including endothelin receptor antagonists, prostacyclin analogues, and phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitors. Section Two covers pulmonary nodules found incidentally and during lung cancer screening. The guidelines discussed in this section help clinicians integrate the radiographic characteristics of pulmonary nodules with the patient’s risk factors to provide evidence-based and patient-centered care. Section Three addresses obesity-hypoventilation syndrome, which causes daytime hypercapnia and can lead to substantial morbidity and mortality. Weight loss of 25% to 30%, although difficult to achieve, can provide relief. Treatment with continuous positive airway pressure or bilevel positive airway pressure helps manage hypercapnia and sleep-disordered breathing. Section Four provides information about diagnosis and management of noninfectious pleural effusions, both transudative and exudative.

I hope you find this edition of FP Essentials helpful for your practice. When you have finished studying it and are ready to submit your quiz answers, please tell us what was most useful and what we can do to improve. We also always look forward to hearing your ideas for topics you would like covered in future editions.

Karl T. Rew, MD, Associate Medical Editor
Clinical Associate Professor, Departments of
Family Medicine and Urology
University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor