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Dyspnoea Scale (dyspnoea + scale)

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Medical Sciences	100%

Selected Abstracts

Results of endoscopic tracheoplasty for treating tracheostomy-related airway stenosis

CLINICAL OTOLARYNGOLOGY, Issue 6 2007
S.A.R. Nouraei
Keypoints ,,Post-tracheostomy ,lambdoid' deformity of the trachea is a specific and uncommon variant of adult post-intubation laryngotracheal stenosis, in which airway obstruction is caused by inward collapse of over-resected tracheal cartilage as a result of post-decannulation stomal contracture. ,,We evaluated the results of endoscopic tracheoplasty as an alternative to open tracheal resection in 11 patients treated for this condition between 2004 and 2006. ,,Patients were treated with endoscopic CO2 laser resection, dilatation and endotracheal mitomycin C application. Suspension micro-laryngo-tracheoscopy and high-frequency supraglottic jet ventilation were used. Eleven patients with an average age of 56 years and lesion height and distance from glottis respectively of 11 ± 5 mm and 35 ± 12 mm were treated. ,,The median number of treatments fell from four at the start of the series to two at the end (P = 0.08). The average follow-up was 17 ± 8 months and all patients were cured with no cases of dysphagia or dysphonia. Almost all patients achieved and maintained a Medical Research Council Dyspnoea Scale of I or II. ,,Endoscopic tracheoplasty is an effective treatment for this condition. It achieves a successful outcome while avoiding the operative risks, prolonged hospitalisation, and morbidity that is associated with tracheal resection. We recommend it as the standard of care for treating patients with this injury. [source]

Development of an activity of daily living scale for patients with COPD: The Activity of Daily Living Dyspnoea scale

RESPIROLOGY, Issue 3 2009
Yoshiyasu YOZA
ABSTRACT Background and objective: Patients with COPD often experience restriction in their activities of daily living (ADL) due to dyspnoea. This type of restriction is unique to patients with COPD and cannot be adequately evaluated by the generic ADL scales. This study developed an ADL scale (the Activity of Daily Living Dyspnoea scale (ADL-D scale)) for patients with COPD and investigated its validity and internal consistency. Methods: Patients with stable COPD were recruited and completed a pilot 26-item questionnaire. Patients also performed the Incremental Shuttle Walk Test (ISWT), and completed the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) and Medical Research Council (MRC) dyspnoea grade. Results: There were 83 male participants who completed the pilot questionnaire. Following the pilot, eight items that were not undertaken by the majority of subjects, and three items judged to be of low clinical importance by physical therapists were removed from the questionnaire. The final ADL-D scale contained 15 items. Scores obtained with the ADL-D scale were significantly correlated with the MRC dyspnoea grades, distance walked on the ISWT and SGRQ scores. The ADL-D scores were significantly different across the five grades of the MRC dyspnoea grade. The ADL-D scale showed high consistency (Chronbach's , coefficient of 0.96). Conclusions: The ADL-D scale is a useful scale for assessing impairments in ADL in Japanese male patients with COPD. [source]

Validation of the Clinical COPD Questionnaire as a psychophysical outcome measure in adult laryngotracheal stenosis

CLINICAL OTOLARYNGOLOGY, Issue 4 2009
S.A.R. Nouraei
Objectives:, To validate the Clinical Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Questionnaire (CCQ), a patient-administered instrument developed for bronchopulmonary disease as a disease-specific psychophysical outcome measure for adult laryngotracheal stenosis. Design:, Prospective observational study. Settings:, Tertiary/National referral airway reconstruction centre. Participants:, Thirty-three tracheostomy-free patients undergoing endoscopic laryngotracheoplasty. Main outcome measures:, CCQ and the Medical Research Council (MRC) Dyspnoea scale, a previously validated but more limited scale, were administered to patients 2 weeks before surgery, preoperatively, and 2 weeks after endoscopic laryngotracheoplasty. Pulmonary function was assessed preoperatively. Internal consistency was assessed with Cronbach , statistics and test,retest reliability was determined using intraclass correlation. Correlations between CCQ and MRC scale, and pulmonary function were used to assess convergent and divergent validity respectively. Instrument responsiveness was assessed by correlating total and domain-specific CCQ scores with anatomical disease severity and post-treatment effect size. Results:, There were 12 males and 21 females. Mean age was 44 ± 15 years. Cronbach , coefficient and intraclass correlation coefficient were 0.88 and 0.95 respectively. Total and domain-specific CCQ scores significantly correlated with the MRC scores (P < 0.001) and significant correlations between CCQ and peak expiratory flow rate and FEV1 were identified (P < 0.03). There were statistically significant changes in total and domain-specific CCQ scores when different stenosis severities were compared. Clinical COPD Questionnaire scores also changed significantly and congruently following surgery (P < 0.05 in both cases). Discussion:, Clinical COPD Questionnaire is a valid and sensitive instrument for assessing symptom severity and levels of function and well-being in adult patients with laryngotracheal stenosis and can be used as a patient-centred disease-specific outcome measure for this condition. [source]

Improved lung function after thoracocentesis in patients with paradoxical movement of a hemidiaphragm secondary to a large pleural effusion

RESPIROLOGY, Issue 5 2007
Lee-Min WANG
Background and objectives: Previous studies have shown little or no improvement in pulmonary function and arterial blood oxygenation after therapeutic thoracocentesis. This study investigated changes in pulmonary function, arterial blood gases and dyspnoea after therapeutic thoracocentesis in patients with paradoxical movement (PM) of a hemidiaphragm due to pleural effusion. Methods: Twenty-one patients with pleural effusion and PM of a hemidiaphragm and 41 patients with pleural effusion but without paradoxical movement (NPM) were studied before and 24 h after thoracocentesis. Lung function measurements included lung mechanics, blood gas exchange and the Borg dyspnoea scale. Results: At thoracocentesis a mean of 1220 mL of pleural fluid was removed from the PM group and 1110 mL from the NPM group. Post-thoracocentesis the PM group showed small but significant improvement (P < 0.05) in FEV1 (63% vs 73%), FVC (67% vs 77%), PaO2 (66 mm Hg vs 73 mm Hg), A-a O2 gradient (38 mm Hg vs 30 mm Hg), and the Borg scale (5.1 vs 2.1). The NPM group showed no significant change in any parameter. Conclusions: Statistically significant improvement in pulmonary function following thoracocentesis was observed in patients with pleural effusion and PM of the hemidiaphragm. Patient selection may therefore explain the different outcomes of thoracocentesis reported in previous studies. [source]