It's our great honor to share the news about the recommendation of our article: Underdetection and undertreatment of dyspnea in critically ill patients., American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 2018 (DOI: 10.3410/f.734522562.793555056).
Dr Vuylsteke's recommendation can be read from here https://f1000.com/prime/734522562?subscriptioncode=1d0872dc-897b-4b84-9d1a-a7b7aed66786&utm_medium=email&utm_source=prime_ypp. If your institution does not subscribe to F1000Prime and you would like to view all the F1000Prime recommendations, click the link above to activate a free 3-month personal subscription (offer valid for 90 days).
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Below is a quick preview of the recommendation:
Alain Vuylsteke https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6749-9251
Faculty Member
Anesthesiology & Pain Management / Cardiovascular Medicine in Anesthesia
Papworth Hospital
Cambridge
UK
Associate Faculty Member
Anesthesiology & Pain Management / Cardiovascular Medicine in Anesthesia
Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Cambridge
UK
We selected this small, single-centre study because it highlights an issue that is often neglected despite its impact on many patients. This is an area worth further work and could be a great start of a thesis.
Dyspnea is distressing and associated with anxiety, increased oxygen requirement, need for invasive ventilation and subsequent prolonged stay in intensive care. In this study, dyspnea was found to be as frequent as pain when reported by patients and patient caregivers, with an incidence of 47% for moderate to severe dyspnea (compared with 41% for pain). They reported that dyspnea was more difficult to manage compared to pain.
The study showed that caregivers were better than nurses at evaluating the presence of dyspnea as they closely matched the patient’s own assessment compared to that of the nurses.
There should be increased vigilance in the routine assessment of dyspnea in patients and subsequently its prompt management to relieve this distressing symptom. The development of clear, validated tools for the assessment of dyspnea at the bedside are warranted.