European Dyspnoea Survey in the EMergency Departments

Braunwald defines dyspnoea as an abnormally uncomfortable awareness of breathing. Breathing discomfort, and its varying degrees of severity, is the one of the most disturbing symptoms patients can experience; and it is one of the main complaints in the patients presenting to the Emergency Department (ED). Dyspnea has a variety of underlying etiologies, like cardiac, pulmonary or metabolic etiologies or a combination of them, since several diseases can cause dyspnea like for instance heart failure (HF), asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Acute heart failure syndrome (AHFS) is collectively defined as a gradual or rapid change in heart failure (HF) signs and symptoms resulting in a need for urgent therapy. Heart failure (HF) is one of the most important causes of morbidity and mortality in the industrialized world. The prevalence of symptomatic HF is estimated to range from 0.4 to 2.0% in general European population. The incidence increases rapidly with age, and in Europe. Characteristics, clinical presentation, treatment, and outcomes of HF patients admitted to hospital have been adequately described, in Europe and in the United States. The Euro Heart Failure Survey (EHFS) I with 11 327 patients described the demographics of acutely hospitalized HF patients. The ADHERE registry has data on over 100 000 hospitalizations for AHF from the USA. In-hospital mortality was 4 and 7%, in ADHERE and EHFS I, respectively.

This same sensation of breathlessness is what also drives patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to the ED. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbation accounts for approximately 1.5 million ED visits in the United States per year. It is the third most common cause of hospitalization, with an estimated 726 000 hospitalizations in 2000 in the USA. Previous studies have demonstrated important differences between guideline recommendations and actual management of COPD exacerbation, either in the ED or during hospitalization.

The diagnosis in front of a dyspneic patient in the ED remains a challenge, because of a low sensitivity of the clinical signs associated with the aging of the population and the variety of underlying diseases. Little is known about the Epidemiology of dyspneic patients in the ED at the European level. Diagnosis, prevalence and treatment of the patients may vary among European countries.