Diana H Ferreira, Slavica Kochovska, Vanessa N Brunelli, David C Currow
{"title":"Understanding persistent breathlessness: impact on patients and optimal approaches to symptomatic reduction - an overview.","authors":"Diana H Ferreira, Slavica Kochovska, Vanessa N Brunelli, David C Currow","doi":"10.1080/17476348.2023.2208348","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Persistent breathlessness (breathlessness persisting despite optimal treatment for the underlying condition and resulting in disability) is a prevalent syndrome associated with chronic and life-limiting conditions. Improving the clinical recognition and assessment of persistent breathlessness is essential to ensure people are provided with the best treatment for optimal symptom control.</p><p><strong>Areas covered: </strong>This overview focuses on the impact of persistent breathlessness on patients, carers and the health system. It highlights the importance of identifying persistent breathlessness in clinical consultations, suggests steps to recognize this syndrome and discusses the evidence for non-pharmacological and pharmacological treatments in this context. Future research directions are also suggested.</p><p><strong>Expert opinion: </strong>Persistent breathlessness is often invisible because 1) people may not engage with the health system and 2) both clinicians and patients are reluctant to discuss breathlessness in clinical consultations. Improving the recognition and assessment of this syndrome is critical to facilitate meaningful conversations between patients and clinicians and ensure patient-centered care. Non-pharmacological strategies are key to improving symptom management and health outcomes. Regular, low-dose, sustained-release morphine may help further reduce breathlessness in people who remain symptomatic despite disease-specific and non-pharmacological therapies.</p>","PeriodicalId":12103,"journal":{"name":"Expert Review of Respiratory Medicine","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.9000,"publicationDate":"2023-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Expert Review of Respiratory Medicine","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/17476348.2023.2208348","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"RESPIRATORY SYSTEM","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Introduction: Persistent breathlessness (breathlessness persisting despite optimal treatment for the underlying condition and resulting in disability) is a prevalent syndrome associated with chronic and life-limiting conditions. Improving the clinical recognition and assessment of persistent breathlessness is essential to ensure people are provided with the best treatment for optimal symptom control.
Areas covered: This overview focuses on the impact of persistent breathlessness on patients, carers and the health system. It highlights the importance of identifying persistent breathlessness in clinical consultations, suggests steps to recognize this syndrome and discusses the evidence for non-pharmacological and pharmacological treatments in this context. Future research directions are also suggested.
Expert opinion: Persistent breathlessness is often invisible because 1) people may not engage with the health system and 2) both clinicians and patients are reluctant to discuss breathlessness in clinical consultations. Improving the recognition and assessment of this syndrome is critical to facilitate meaningful conversations between patients and clinicians and ensure patient-centered care. Non-pharmacological strategies are key to improving symptom management and health outcomes. Regular, low-dose, sustained-release morphine may help further reduce breathlessness in people who remain symptomatic despite disease-specific and non-pharmacological therapies.
期刊介绍:
Coverage will include the following key areas:
- Prospects for new and emerging therapeutics
- Epidemiology of disease
- Preventive strategies
- All aspects of COPD, from patient self-management to systemic effects of the disease and comorbidities
- Improved diagnostic methods, including imaging techniques, biomarkers and physiological tests.
- Advances in the treatment of respiratory infections and drug resistance issues
- Occupational and environmental factors
- Progress in smoking intervention and cessation methods
- Disease and treatment issues for defined populations, such as children and the elderly
- Respiratory intensive and critical care
- Updates on the status and advances of specific disease areas, including asthma, HIV/AIDS-related disease, cystic fibrosis, COPD and sleep-disordered breathing morbidity