Dyspnoea
Introduction[edit | edit source]
Dyspnoea/ dyspnea also known as shortness of breath or breathlessness, is a subjective awareness of the sensation of uncomfortable breathing.
[1].Dyspnoea is a subjective sensation which probably develops as a result of integration of signals from the central nervous system and some peripheral receptors. Known dyspnoegenic stimuli include the sensation of an increased effort of the respiratory muscles, information from chemoreceptors on the inadequacy of ventilation, from pulmonary receptors on the compression of the airways and disharmony between information on the tension of the respiratory muscles and the corresponding shortening of the muscle.[2]Dyspnea represents one of the most frequent cardinal symptoms in general practice and interdisciplinary emergency care across all sectors[3]
Epidemiology[edit | edit source]
The epidemiology of dyspnea is highly variable depending on etiology.[4]
Mechanism of Injury / Pathological Process[edit | edit source]
Clinical Presentation[edit | edit source]
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Diagnostic Procedures[edit | edit source]
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Outcome Measures[edit | edit source]
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Management / Interventions[edit | edit source]
Dyspnea can be either acute or chronic with acute occurring over hours to days and chronic occurring for more than 4 to 8 weeks.[4]
Differential Diagnosis[edit | edit source]
Dyspnea is a symptom of the disease, rather than a disease itself. As such, its etiology can be designated as arising from four primary categories: respiratory, cardiac, neuromuscular, psychogenic, systemic illness, or a combination of these.
Respiratory causes may include asthma, acute exacerbation of or chronic congestive obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), pneumonia, pulmonary Embolism, lung malignancy, pneumothorax, or aspiration.
Cardiovascular causes may include congestive heart failure, pulmonary edema, acute coronary syndrome, pericardial tamponade, valvular heart defect, pulmonary hypertension, cardiac arrhythmia, or intracardiac shunting.
Neuromuscular causes may include chest trauma with fracture or flail chest, massive obesity, kyphoscoliosis, central nervous system (CNS) or spinal cord dysfunction, phrenic nerve paralysis, myopathy, and neuropathy.
Psychogenic causes may include hyperventilation syndrome, psychogenic dyspnea, vocal cord dysfunction syndrome, and foreign body aspiration.
Other systemic illnesses may include anemia, acute renal failure, metabolic acidosis, thyrotoxicosis, cirrhosis of the liver, anaphylaxis, sepsis, angioedema, and epiglottitis[4]
Resources[edit | edit source]
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References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Coccia CB, Palkowski GH, Schweitzer B, Motsohi T, Ntusi NA. Dyspnoea: Pathophysiology and a clinical approach. SAMJ: South African Medical Journal. 2016 Jan;106(1):32-6.
- ↑ Smejkal V. Dyspnea remains a complicated medical (clinical) problem. Casopis Lekaru Ceskych. 2000 Jan 1;139(1):9-12.
- ↑ Hauswaldt J, Blaschke S. Dyspnoe. Der Internist. 2017 Sep 1;58(9):925-36.[1]
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Sharma S, Hashmi MF, Badireddy M. Dyspnea on Exertion (DOE). InStatPearls [Internet] 2020 May 23. StatPearls Publishing.
