Distress and effort of breathing in asthmatic and healthy subjects: a secondary analysis

Abstract

This investigation explores the interpretation of the sense of breathing effort and distress. Visual Analogue Scale scores for distress and effort of breathing were collected over a 28 day period from two groups, 13 healthy individuals and 14 individuals with stable asthma. Scores were analyzed for differences between groups with regard to mean, standard deviation, maximum, and minimum of both distress and effort. Within groups the above variables of distress and effort were compared to the self-reported level of dyspnea at the end of the data collection period. Over the 28 day period, mean, standard deviation, and maximum of distress were significantly different (n<.05) between the two groups. Significant correlations (n<.05) to the reported level of dyspnea at the end of28 days were only within the asthma group. The results suggest that assessment of breathing distress may be a better indicator of patient condition, regardless of apparent breathing effort.