Low Sensitivity to Dyspnea May Signal Asthma Attack

A study of asthma patients has found that patients with a low perception of dyspnea (POD) may be at risk for a life-threatening attack, compared to patients with higher POD.


The researchers, at the Hillel Yaffe Medical Center (Hadera, Israel), defined POD as the identification, evaluation, and interpretation of discomfort of breathing. They measured POD in 113 patients with stable asthma and related it to the incidence of near-fatal and fatal attacks within a two-year period. About 26% of the subjects had low POD, compared to 59% with normal POD and 15% with high POD. The asthmatics with low POD, even without a history of near-fatal asthma, were more likely to suffer life-threatening attacks. Compared to the other subjects, low POD subjects tended to be older, female, be a long-time asthma sufferer, and have severe asthma. The study was published in the February 2002 issue of Chest.

"POD is not readily measured in the treatment of asthmatics today, but with a simple test, we can identify patients with low POD, those at risk for fatal asthmatic attack,” said Paltiel Weiner, M.D., head of the department of medicine at Hillel Yaffe Medical Center. "By carefully monitoring them, we can prevent death from asthma.”





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