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Respiratory
Lungs, airways, breathing — asthma, COPD, chronic cough.
23 posts in this body system.
Full-text search across every page — patient-education library, /pulse news commentary, and site pages. Try statin, TGA peptides, insomnia.
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Cystic fibrosis (adult)
Cystic fibrosis in adults: shared care in Australian general practice
How GPs manage adult CF alongside specialist centres — CFTR modulators, CF-related diabetes, pulmonary exacerbations, bone health, and family planning.
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Sarcoidosis
Sarcoidosis: recognising and managing a multisystem granulomatous disease
Sarcoidosis in Australian general practice — diagnosis, staging, treatment, and urgent red flags including cardiac and neurological involvement.
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Viral wheeze and pre-school asthma
Viral wheeze in pre-schoolers: the AU general practice approach
Pre-school viral wheeze — episodic versus multi-trigger phenotypes, salbutamol dosing, steroid evidence, and montelukast warning.
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Paediatric obstructive sleep apnoea
Paediatric sleep apnoea: snoring, adenotonsillectomy and the AU GP approach
Paediatric OSA — when snoring needs investigating, how AU GPs work up and refer, adenotonsillectomy evidence, and what parents need to know.
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Pleural effusion
Pleural effusion: Light's criteria, diagnosis, and management
Pleural effusion in Australian practice: applying Light's criteria, when to drain, and the mesothelioma compensation pathway for asbestos-related disease.
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Pneumothorax
Pneumothorax: collapsed lung — recognition, management and AU guidelines
Pneumothorax — types, recognition, conservative vs active management (PSP-1 trial), needle decompression and the AU general practice pathway.
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Pulmonary hypertension
Pulmonary hypertension: five groups, targeted therapies and AU pathway
Pulmonary hypertension — five WSPH clinical groups, why group misidentification is dangerous, AU treatment pathway, PBS Section 100 and CTEPH surgery at RPA.
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Pulmonary Nodule
Pulmonary Nodule: Size, Type, and When You Need Follow-Up
Most lung nodules found on CT are benign, but size, solid vs sub-solid type, and smoking history determine whether you need repeat scans or specialist referral.
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Occupational lung disease (silicosis, asbestosis, hypersensitivity pneumonitis)
Occupational lung disease: silicosis, asbestos and hypersensitivity pneumonitis
Silicosis, asbestos-related disease, hypersensitivity pneumonitis and occupational asthma — recognition, workup, workers compensation, and AU GP management.
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Bronchiolitis and croup
Bronchiolitis and croup: the AU general-practice approach
Bronchiolitis and croup — two common viral paediatric airway syndromes: when to manage supportively, when to escalate, and how RSV prevention has changed.
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Bronchiectasis
Bronchiectasis: the AU general practice approach to chronic lung damage
Chronic productive cough, recurrent chest infections, and breathlessness — how bronchiectasis is diagnosed and managed in Australian general practice.
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Lung cancer (primary malignancy of the bronchus and lung)
Lung cancer: recognition, NLCSP screening and the GP's role in AU practice
Lung cancer — early recognition, NLCSP screening from 1 July 2025, the urgent 2-week referral pathway, and why no GP visit with a smoker should miss cessation.
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Acute bronchitis and post-viral cough
Acute bronchitis and post-viral cough: why antibiotics don't help and what does
Acute bronchitis is almost always viral. AU general practice: symptom care, antibiotic stewardship, red-flag recognition, post-viral cough management.
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Asthma–COPD overlap
Asthma–COPD overlap: recognising the mixed airway phenotype in general practice
Asthma–COPD overlap (ACO): airflow limitation with features of both. ICS-LABA first-line; never withhold corticosteroids when asthma features are present.
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Influenza and COVID-19
Influenza and COVID-19: antiviral windows and the AU general practice approach
Influenza and COVID-19 — who benefits from antivirals, the drug interaction risks of Paxlovid, long COVID, and AU general practice management.
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Upper respiratory tract infections
Upper respiratory tract infections: the AU antimicrobial stewardship approach
URTI — why antibiotics are rarely needed, when they are (GAS pharyngitis, ARF risk), and the AU general practice framework.
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Stress and anxiety (self-management)
Breathing techniques: what the evidence shows, and when to use which
A GP's evidence review of guided breathing — coherent, 4-7-8, box, physiological sigh, extended exhale: how they work, what trials show, and when to use each.
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Community-acquired pneumonia
Community-acquired pneumonia: diagnosis and treatment for Australian GPs
CAP severity assessment (CORB), empirical antibiotics, 6-week follow-up CXR, and vaccination — the eTG framework for Australian general practice.
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Obstructive sleep apnoea
Obstructive sleep apnoea: diagnosis, CPAP, and the Australian GP approach
Obstructive sleep apnoea — STOP-BANG screening, home sleep study vs polysomnography, CPAP, mandibular devices, weight loss, and Austroads driving rules.
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Allergic rhinitis
Allergic rhinitis (hay fever): the Australian general practice guide
Hay fever affects 1 in 5 Australians. Nasal corticosteroid sprays beat antihistamines for persistent symptoms. AU steps, PBS, and when immunotherapy helps.
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Chronic cough
Chronic cough: causes, investigations, and treatment in AU general practice
Chronic cough — the three main causes, empirical treatment approach, red flags requiring urgent investigation, and how refractory cough is managed.
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Asthma
Asthma: what AU general practice does in 2026 (and why blue puffers changed)
Asthma management — Australian Asthma Handbook framework, why SABA-only is gone, ICS-formoterol single-inhaler, severe-asthma biologics.
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Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
COPD: smoking cessation, pulmonary rehab, and the AU primary-care framework
COPD — diagnosis, why smoking cessation matters most, inhaler escalation, pulmonary rehab, and the AU GP pathway under COPD-X.