ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of pulmonary rehabilitation on pulmonary function,perception of dyspnea and quality of life in stable COPD patients of different severity. Methods300 patients with COPD in stable stage were divided into a moderate COPD group (n=120),a severe COPD group (n=100) and a very severe COPD group (n=80). Each group was randomly subdivided into a control group and a treatment group. The treatment groups received pulmonary rehabilitation for 6 months in addition to usual care,and the control groups received usual care without pulmonary rehabilitation. Pulmonary function(FEV1),6 minute walking distance (6MWD),modified medical research council (mMRC) scale,and acute exacerbation frequency of COPD were compared before and after intervention and among groups. ResultsAfter pulmonary rehabilitation for 6 months,the quality of life score and 6MWD were significantly improved in the treatment groups with moderate,severe,very severe COPD,and the increscent of 6MWD was greatest in the severe COPD patients. The mMRC of the patients with very severe COPD improved significantly after pulmonary rehabilitation(P<0.05). Lung function before and after the intervention in three groups all showed no significant difference (P>0.05). The acute exacerbation frequency of the severe COPD patients was significantly reduced by pulmonary rehabilitation (P<0.05), while there was no significant change in the moderate and very severe groups (P>0.05). ConclusionPulmonary rehabilitation can improve exercise tolerance and quality of life of COPD patients with different severity,reduce acute exacerbation frequency in severe COPD,reduce the dyspnea degree in very severe COPD. Pulmonary rehabilitation is a cost-effective treatment for stable COPD.
Objective To evaluate the diagnostic value of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) for cardiac dyspnea.Methods Plasma BNP levels were measured by radioimmunoassay in dyspnea patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) (n=52) or without CHF (n=30) and normal control group (n=28).Results The BNP level in dyspnea patients with CHF was significantly higher than that of dyspnea patients without CHF and normal control group [(649.80±141.72) pg/mL vs (59.08±18.60) pg/mL and (65.20±16.32) pg/mL，respectively,Plt;0.05].There was no significant difference of BNP level between dyspnea patients without CHF and normal group (Pgt;0.05).The plasma BNP level elevated with the worsening of heart failure (NYHA Classiffication).The BNP level in dyspnea patients with CHF was negatively correlated with left ventricle ejection fraction (r=－0.673，Plt;0.001).The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed that the area under the ROC curve (AUC) is 0.91(0.88-0.98，Plt;0.001) with a sensitivity of 87.2% and a specificity of 86.8% at the cutoff value of 206 pg/mL.Conclusion Measurement of plasma BNP is a rapid diagnostic method for cardiac dyspnea.
Objective To identify the best therapy regime for dyspnea in an end-stage cancer patient.Method We searched The Cochrane Library (Issue 2, 2006), SUMsearch (1978 to 2006) and MEDLINE (1978 to 2006), and identified 4 systematic reviews and 28 randomised controlled trials. We critically assessed the quality of these studies. Result Evidence supported the use of breathing exercise, desensitisation, oral or parenteral opioids and antianxiety drugs to pall iate breathlessness. Patients with hypoxemia were found to benefit from oxygen therapy. Conclusions Physiotherapy, psychotherapy, oxygen therapy, opioids and antianxiety drugs can be considered in treating cancer patients with dyspnea.
【摘要】 目的 总结非器质性呼吸困难患者的急诊诊治经验，提高急诊医生对心理-生理性疾病的认识。 方法 对2005年-2009年急诊科32例非器质性呼吸困难患者的诊治经过进行回顾性分析。 结果 32例患者发病前均有精神创伤或过度劳累、精神紧张、或应急等心因性诱因；有典型的临床症状；过度通气激发试验阳性；血气分析提示呼吸性碱中毒；Nijmegen问卷积分≤23分者18例（56.2%）；辅助检查未见其他原发性疾病。 结论 随着现代社会身心压力的增大，非器质性呼吸困难患者明显增加，临床医生应加强对社会心理-生理性疾病的认识，提高诊断率，对减轻患者的精神压力及避免过度医疗具有重要的临床意义。【Abstract】 Objective To summarize the medical experiences of treating nonorganic dyspnea in the emergency department and raise physicians’ awareness of psychological-physiological diseases. Methods The clinical data of 32 patients with nonorganic dyspnea between 2005 and 2009 in the emergency department of our hospital were analyzed retrospectively. Results All the 32 patients had psychogenic incentives before onset of the disease, such as mental injury, over-exhaustion, nervousness or emergency. All of them had typical clinical manifestations. The results of hyperventilation provocation test were positive. Arterial blood gas analysis implied respiratory alkalosis. Eighteen of them (56.2%) had a mark ≤23 on the Nijmegen questionnaire. Auxiliary examinations showed no other primary diseases. Conclusions With the increase of emotional stress in the modern society, the number of patients with nonorganic dyspnea have markedly increased. Clinicians should strengthen the awareness of social psychology-physiological diseases, and improve diagnostic accuracy, which will have an obvious clinical value in relieving patients’ mental stress and avoiding excessive medical treatment.
ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of pulmonary rehabilitation on the exercise capacity and quality of life in patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) for a optimal strategy for pulmonary rehabilitation. MethodsOne hundred and six patients with COPD in stable stage were divided into group B (n=37), group C (n=36), and group D(n=33) based on GOLD 2011.Each group of patients were randomly subdivided into a control group(usual care), a pulmonary rehabilitation strategy group 1 (breathing training), and a pulmonary rehabilitation strategy group 2 (breathing training and exercise training), and they were intervened for 24 weeks.Pulmonary function(FEV1%pred), COPD Assessment Test (CAT), modified British Medical Research Council dyspnea scale(mMRC), BODE index and 6-minute walking distance(6MWD) were compared before and after intervention. ResultsAfter pulmonary rehabilitation intervening for 24 weeks, in group B and group C, pulmonary rehabilitation strategy group 2 showed the best effect, CAT, mMRC, BODE index, and 6MWD were proved significantly different before and after pulmonary rehabilitation (P < 0.05).In group D, all indexes had no significant difference between pulmonary rehabilitation strategy group 1 and group 2 before and after pulmonary rehabilitation (P > 0.05), but they were better than those of the control group.Correlation analysis showed that CAT score had significant correlation with FEV1 % pred, mMRC, BODE index and 6MWD (P < 0.01). ConclusionPatients with different subgroup of COPD based on GOLD 2011 may take different pulmonary rehabilitation strategies to achieve the optimal effect.
ObjectiveTo investigate the feasibility and effect of early pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) in patients after acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in a district hospital. MethodsA single-centre prospective study was conducted. The COPD patients after an episode of acute exacerbation and referred to the outpatient department were recruited from January 2013 to December 2014. They were randomized to a group with PR (PR group) and a group without PR (wPR group). The following data were recorded and evaluated including age, gender, forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), and FEV1 as a percentage of the predicted value (FEV1% pred).The baseline and the post-PR medical research council scale (MRC), St. George's respiratory questionnaire (SGRQ), and six-minute walk distance (6MWD) were also compared. ResultsA total of 91 cases were enrolled with 46 cases in the PR group and 45 cases in the wPR group. The age, gender, the severity of COPD were similar in two groups (P > 0.05). The MRC score and SGRQ score of the PR group were significantly improved 3 months later compare with the baseline (P < 0.05), and did not changed significantly in the wPR group (P > 0.05). There were 26 patients whose SGRQ scores decreased > 4 in the PR group (26/46, 56.5%), which was significantly higher than the wPR group (7/45, 15.6%) (P < 0.05). The 6MWD of the PR group was significantly increased 3 months later compare with the baseline (P < 0.05), and did not changed significantly in the wPR group (P > 0.05). There were 22 patients whose 6MWD increased > 54 meters in the PR group (22/46, 47.8%), which was significantly higher than the wPR group (9/45, 20.0%) (P < 0.05). ConclusionsIt is feasible and safety to perform early PR in patients after acute exacerbation of COPD in the district hospital. The early PR can improve the MRC score, SGQR score, and 6MWD in COPD patients.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the clinical value of three clinical methods for rating dyspnea in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). MethodsSixty-six patients with stable COPD visiting the respiratory department between January 2012 and December 2014 were recruited in the study. Quality of life was assessed by the Chinese version SF-36,and dyspnea was assessed by the medical research council scale (MRC),oxygen-cost diagram (OCD) and baseline dyspnea index (BDI),respectively. All patients underwent pulmonary function test. ResultsDyspnea scores from all three methods were significantly correlated (r value ranged from -0.855 to 0.915),but they had no correlation with height,age or weight. Dyspnea scores obtained from the MRC,OCD and BDI correlated significantly with FVC,FEV1,RV/TLC and DLCO(r value ranged from 0.269 to -0.461),but not obviously correlated with FEV1/FVC. Three dyspnea scores were all significantly correlated with six components of the SF-36,except the role limitations due to emotional problems and mental healthy. The spirometic values were significantly correlated with two components of the SF-36,including physical functioning and role limitations due to emotional problem. Dyspnea had more closely correlation with the life quality than the spirometic values. ConclusionThree methods for rating dyspnea show good consistency with different physiological index.