Dyspnoe in Palliative care

Breathlessness can be quite distressing for the patients and carers.This chart on A4Medicine starts with looking at the causes and a focussed assessment. Interventions for reversible causes is mentioned to remind the reader of the scope of treatment available. Pharmacological interventions are mentioned side by side to help make a choice. Link is for the Palliative Care Adult Network Guideline which can be accessed via http://book.pallcare.info/

Dyspnoe is common in palliative care Major cause of suffering and distress , for eg -in people with○ End stage COPD○ Severe heart disease○ End stage renal disease○ Cancer - particularly primary lung cancer○ Respiratory diseases as lung fibrosis○ AIDS Can be described along three dimensions○ Air hunger - need to breathe while being unable to increase ventilation○ Effort of breathing - physical tiredness associated with breathing○ Chest tightness - the feeling of constriction and inability to breathe in and out" A subjective experience of breathing discomfort that consists of qualitatively distinct sensations that vary in intensity " Encompasses physical , psychological , social and spiritual domains Pathophysiology is poorly understood and little is known about the trajectory of breathlessness near death One of the most distressing symptoms in cancer patients

Sudden-Asthma Pulmonary oedema...