Non-tuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease (NTM-PD): Epidemiology, diagnosis and multidisciplinary management.

Non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are ubiquitous environmental organisms that can cause significant disease in both immunocompromised and immunocompetent individuals. The incidence of NTM pulmonary disease (NTM-PD) is rising globally. Diagnostic challenges persist and treatment efficacy is variable. This article provides an overview of NTM-PD for clinicians. We discuss how common it is, who is at risk, how it is diagnosed and the multidisciplinary approach to its clinical management.

A case study of a collaborative allied health and nursing crisis response.

The COVID-19 pandemic was declared by the World Health Organization on 11 March 2020. The rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2 required an equally rapid response from health-care organizations to find innovative ways to utilize the existing workforce to care for people with COVID-19. Using an evaluative case study, a unique insight into the collaborative allied health and nursing professions' response to COVID-19 at a specialist cardiothoracic hospital in the United Kingdom is presented. The aim of the case study was to evaluate how an interprofessional workforce from the wider organization could be supported to work in critical care as part of a crisis response. In identifying the key enablers to setting up an interprofessional Essential Care Team and learning from the lived experiences of those involved, this case study has demonstrated that, in supported, interprofessional teams the wider organizational workforce can be facilitated to effectively and safely provide critical care services. The lessons learned from this study will support future pandemic responses and aid the identification of further opportunities for interprofessional learning and practice. Ultimately, the study highlights that by identifying and investing in the key enablers, health-care organizations can be better prepared to respond to a global crisis.

The Breathing, Thinking, Functioning clinical model: a proposal to facilitate evidence-based breathlessness management in chronic respiratory disease.

Refractory breathlessness is a highly prevalent and distressing symptom in advanced chronic respiratory disease. Its intensity is not reliably predicted by the severity of lung pathology, with unhelpful emotions and behaviours inadvertently exacerbating and perpetuating the problem. Improved symptom management is possible if clinicians choose appropriate non-pharmacological approaches, but these require engagement and commitment from both patients and clinicians. The Breathing Thinking Functioning clinical model is a proposal, developed from current evidence, that has the potential to facilitate effective symptom control, by providing a rationale and focus for treatment.