Clinical utility of measures of breathlessness

摘要: BACKGROUND: The clinical utility of measures dyspnea has been debated in the health care community. Although breathlessness can be evaluated with various instruments, most effective measurement tool for patients chronic lung disease or measuring treatment effectiveness remains uncertain. Understanding evidence validity and reliability these instruments may provide a basis appropriate application. OBJECTIVE: Evaluate designed to measure breathlessness, either as single-symptom multidimensional based on psychometrics foundations such validity, reliability, discriminative evaluative properties. Classification each instrument will recommend application terms exercise, benchmarldng patients, activities daily living, patient outcomes, trials, responsiveness treatment. METHODS: Eleven were selected. Each was assessed then analyzed its psychometric properties purpose design. RESULTS: Descriptive data from all studies described according their primary (ie, obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, other populations). Borg Scale Visual Analogue are applicable exertion thus applied any cardiopulmonary determine dyspnea. All determined whereas Shortness Breath Questionnaire cystic fibrosis transplant patients. effects living benchmarking progress. Instruments that quantify function health-related quality life have great documenting outcomes but limited clinically important changes. CONCLUSIONS: we studied meet-important standards reliability. Discriminative and, when used populations conditions which they not validated, collected relevant. Evaluative greater outcome purposes. Measures should designed. relationship between therapies an develop respiratory therapists become more comfortable implementing use improve Dyspnea evaluation considered practice guidelines pathways.