Dyspnoea upon hospital admission: listen to the bird of ill omen!. Issue 3 (2nd September 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Decavèle, Maxens; Similowski, Thomas
• Is Part Of: European respiratory journal. Volume 58:Issue 3(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-09-02
• Subjects: Respiratory organs -- Diseases -- Periodicals; Respiration -- Periodicals; 616.2
• DOI: 10.1183/13993003.00988-2021
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0903-1936

Abstract

Dyspnoea, namely a patient's complaint of difficult, disturbing or distressing breathing, is a symptom that prompts physicians to undertake diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in order to identify and correct causative pathophysiological abnormalities. Dyspnoea can become self-perpetuating (a syndrome) when it persists despite mechanistic treatments. It then justifies symptomatic management to alleviate suffering [1, 2]. Above all, dyspnoea is an experience that changes patients' lives and requires holistic approaches [3]. In this issue of the European Respiratory Journal, Stevens et al. [4], from a group that has achieved outstanding progress in the understanding of dyspnoea [5], spotlight yet another aspect of dyspnoea. They highlight its value as a very generic warning sign of impending doom: in unselected patients admitted to hospital, the "mere fact" of reporting dyspnoea is associated with an increased risk of hospital mortality. This risk increases with increasing intensity of dyspnoea. Patients reporting dyspnoea on admission to an hospital ward are at increased risk of death during their hospital stay https://bit.ly/2Q5pYWR