Breathlessness and presentation to the emergency department: a survey and clinical record review

Hutchinson, Ann; Pickering, Alistair; Williams, Paul; Bland, J. Martin; Johnson, Miriam J.

Abstract

Background Breathlessness is a frequently occurring symptom of cardiorespiratory conditions and is a common cause of emergency department presentation. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of acute-on-chronic breathlessness as a cause for presentation to the major emergencies area of the emergency department. Methods A prospective patient self-report survey and clinical record review of consecutive attendees to the major emergencies area of the emergency department in a single tertiary hospital between 12/5/14 and 29/5/14 was conducted. Eligible patients were clinically stable and had mental capacity to provide data. Results There were 2,041 presentations during the study period, of whom 1,345 (66%) were eligible. There was a 90% survey response rate (1,212/1,345); 424/1,212 (35%) self-reported breathlessness most days over the past month of whom 245 gave breathlessness as a reason for this presentation. Therefore, the prevalence of acute-on-chronic breathlessness as a reason to present to the major emergencies area was 20.2% (245/1,212, 95% CI 17.9% to 22.5%). During this period there were 4,692 major and minor presentations; breathlessness was therefore a cause of at least 5.2% (245/4,692, 95% CI 4.6 to 5.9%) of all emergency department presentations. Conclusions This study found that one in five ambulance presentations to the ED were due to acute-on-chronic breathlessness. Most patients had non-malignant underlying conditions, had experienced considerable breathlessness for an extended period, had discussed breathlessness with their GP and presented out of daytime hours. Others were often involved in their decision to present. This represents clinically significant burden for patients, their family carers and the emergency health services.

Citation

Hutchinson, A., Pickering, A., Williams, P., Bland, J. M., & Johnson, M. J. (2017). Breathlessness and presentation to the emergency department: a survey and clinical record review. BMC Pulmonary Medicine, 17(1), Article 53. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12890-017-0396-4

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 15, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Mar 20, 2017
• Publication Date: Mar 20, 2017
• Deposit Date: Mar 21, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 21, 2017
• Journal: BMC pulmonary medicine
• Electronic ISSN: 1471-2466
• Publisher: Springer Verlag
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 17
• Issue: 1
• Article Number: 53
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12890-017-0396-4
• Keywords: Epidemiology, Breathlessness
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/449780
• Publisher URL: http://bmcpulmmed.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12890-017-0396-4
• Additional Information: Copy of article first published in: BMC pulmonary medicine, 2017, v.17, article number 53.