Proceedings of the American Thoracic Society
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Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) describe their breathlessness as related to the work and effort associated with breathing. Current evidence suggests that the perception of dyspnea is due to a "mismatch" between the outgoing motor command from the central nervous system and the corresponding afferent information from chemoreceptors and/or mechanoreceptors. To measure the severity of dyspnea the principles of psychophysics (stimulus --> response relationship) can be applied. ⋯ A computerized system has been developed whereby the person can report ratings spontaneously and continuously by moving a computer mouse that adjusts a vertical bar adjacent to 0-10 category-ratio scale positioned on a monitor. With this continuous method the patient reports twice the number of dyspnea ratings during exercise compared with discrete ratings each minute. Patient-reported dyspnea based on activities of daily living and exercise testing provides distinct but complimentary information.
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Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is not only an established major cause of mortality and morbidity but is increasing in worldwide prevalence despite current medical interventions. The natural history of COPD is punctuated by periods of acute symptomatic, physiologic, and functional deterioration or exacerbations. ⋯ Although pharmacologic therapies may improve clinical outcomes, these benefits must be optimized by prompt diagnosis and delivery. This will require improved understanding of this complex disease by physicians and patients alike.