FATMA IŞIL UZEL, BURAK UZEL
Southern Clinics of Istanbul Eurasia - 2024;35(4):329-335
Objective: Dyspnea, a major symptom of COPD, reflects both physiological and psychological factors influencing a patient’s health status. This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between clinical methods used to measure dyspnea and physiological measures in stable COPD patients. Methods: A total of 25 stable COPD patients participated in this cross-sectional study, undergoing detailed pulmonary function tests (PFTs), a six-minute walking test, and dyspnea assessments using both indirect and direct methods. Indirect methods included the Turkish versions of the Oxygen Cost Diagram (OCD), Medical Research Council (MRC) Dyspnea Scale, and Baseline Dyspnea Index (BDI), while the direct method employed was the Turkish version of the Borg Dyspnea Scale. Statistical evaluation was made using Spearman’s and Pearson correlation ranks, and r and p values were calculated. p<0.05 was considered statistically significant. All results were presented separately and as median±standard deviation (SD) for every patient. Results: The median age of patients was 65 years. The mean values of PFT were FVC 74%±21, FEV1 53%±22, and FEV1/FVC 56%±11. The mean six-minute walking distance was 398±140 meters. Significant correlations were found between most dyspnea measurement methods and the six-minute walking distance, particularly with OCD (r=0.659, p<0.01), MRC (r=-0.538, p<0.05), and various BDI components. FVC also correlated significantly with several dyspnea measures. Conclusion: We showed that different dyspnea measurement methods in COPD patients correlated well with spirometry and six-minute walking test results. OCD was strongly correlated with 6MWT, whereas mMRC and BDI were moderately correlated. There were moderate/weak correlations between OCD, BDI, Borg2, mMRC, and spirometric measures. Our results indicate that dyspnea measurements are components of COPD severity assessment, along with functional exercise capacity and spirometry, and are in alignment with the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) system.
