Raising the Profile of Pulmonary Education for Physicians in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

摘要

The burden and pattern of human diseases are changing worldwide, especially in low- and middle-income countries. In addition to the continuing burden of infectious diseases in these countries, there is a surge in the incidence of noncommunicable diseases, including chronic respiratory diseases (1). Clinical diagnoses of chronic respiratory disease, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, lung cancer, and interstitial lung diseases, are now commonplace in health facilities in developing countries. Prominent reasons for this trend include underreporting in the past; rapidly changing population demographics, with many more in the resource-poor countries living into the chronic disease age range; and an actual increase in the prevalence and morbidity of respiratory diseases (2).