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The language of breathlessness differentiates between patients with COPD and age-matched adults
- Source :
- Flinders University PURE
- Publication Year :
- 2008
- Publisher :
- USA : American College of Chest Physicians, 2008.
-
Abstract
- If descriptors of the sensation of breathlessness are able to differentiate between medical conditions, the language of breathlessness could potentially have a role in differential diagnosis. This study investigated whether the language used to describe the sensation of breathlessness accurately categorized older individuals with and without a prior diagnosis of COPD.Using a parallel-group design, participants with and without a prior diagnosis of COPD volunteered words and phrases and endorsed up to three statements to describe their sensation of breathlessness. Cluster analysis (v-fold cross-validation) was applied, and subjects were clustered by their choice of words. Cluster membership was then compared to original group membership (COPD vs non-COPD), and predictive power was assessed.Groups were similar for age and gender (COPD, n = 94; 48 men; mean age, 70 +/- 10 years [+/- SD]; vs non-COPD, n = 55; 21 men; mean age, 69 +/- 13 years) but differed significantly in breathlessness-related impairment, intensity, and quality of life (p0.0001). Cluster membership corresponded accurately with original group classifications (volunteered, 85%; and up to three statements, 68% agreement). Classification based on a single best descriptor (volunteered [62%] or endorsed [55%]) was less accurate for group membership.Language used to describe the sensation of breathlessness differentiated people with and without a prior diagnosis of COPD when descriptors were not limited to a single best word or statement.
- Subjects :
- Male
Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine
medicine.medical_specialty
SF-36
Visual analogue scale
Dyspenea
Critical Care and Intensive Care Medicine
Chronic obstructive
Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive
Quality of life
Terminology as Topic
Sensation
medicine
Cluster Analysis
Humans
Aged
Language
Aged, 80 and over
Physician-Patient Relations
COPD
business.industry
Communication
Case-control study
Middle Aged
respiratory system
medicine.disease
Respiratory Muscles
Confidence interval
Dyspnea
Inhalation
Case-Control Studies
Physical therapy
Female
General Health Questionnaire
Pulmonary disease
Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine
business
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Flinders University PURE
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....17f89a59f1eb042d703d51f3c1e488cc