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Sound the alarm when patients share symptoms

Understand patients’ language to identify interstitial lung disease (ILD) symptoms, as patients often describe pulmonary symptoms as a function of everyday activities1

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DESCRIBING PULMONARY SYMPTOMS

Understand patients’ language to identify interstitial lung disease (ILD) symptoms, as patients often describe pulmonary symptoms as a function of everyday activities1

Awareness of patient language can help identify the symptoms of ILD1

Patients with ILD seldom refer to the actual act of breathing or coughing, but instead, are indicated by their ability to perform activities central to functionality or life priorities1

Examples of how patients with ILD describe their pulmonary symptoms1

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Adapted from Mittoo S, et al. Curr Respir Med Rev. 2015;11(2):175–183.

Common descriptors for ‘shortness of breath’ or ‘breathlessness’, and uncomfortable sensations related to inspiration, used by patients with CTD-ILD1

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Survey of 6 multicenter focus groups including 45 patients with CTD-ILDs (IIM-ILD (n=11), RA-ILD (n=13), SSc-ILD (n=17), and various other CTD diagnoses (n=4)). Traditional descriptors such as ‘shortness of breath’ or ‘breathlessness’ were seldom voiced, instead phrases such as these were used.1

Listen out for subtle hints of ILD symptoms, especially in patients with CTDs1 – promptly refer patients to a lung specialist when ILD is suspected2

Abbreviations

CTD, connective tissue disease; CTD-ILD, connective tissue disease-associated interstitial lung disease; IIM-ILD, idiopathic inflammatory myositis-associated interstitial lung disease; ILD, interstitial lung disease; RA-ILD, rheumatoid arthritis-associated interstitial lung disease; SSc-ILD, systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease.

  1. Mittoo S, Frankel S, LeSage D, et al. Patient perspectives in OMERACT provide an anchor for future metric development and improved approaches to healthcare delivery in connective tissue disease related interstitial lung disease (CTD-ILD). Curr Respir Med Rev. 2015;11(2):175–183.
  2. Zibrak JD, Price D. Interstitial lung disease: raising the index of suspicion in primary care. NPJ Prim Care Respir Med. 2014;24:14054.

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