Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Dec:62:151510.
doi: 10.1016/j.apnr.2021.151510. Epub 2021 Oct 6.

Symptom burden and functional performance in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Omar Melhem  1 , Eileen Savage  2 , Nathira Al Hmaimat  3 , Elaine Lehane  4 , Hadya Abdel Fattah  5
Affiliations

Symptom burden and functional performance in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Omar Melhem et al. Appl Nurs Res. 2021 Dec.

Abstract

Background: The burden of COPD is growing, and it is one of the leading disease burdens worldwide. Studies on symptom burden as a multidimensional concept in COPD and functional performance are lacking, and little is known about the effect of multiple symptoms and symptom burden on functional performance.

Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional correlational survey design was used. The Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale (MSAS) and the Functional Performance Inventory-Short Form (FPI-SF) were used to measure the symptom burden and functional performance. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Participants (n = 214) were recruited from the respiratory outpatient clinic in one of the teaching hospitals in Ireland.

Results: Patients with COPD, regardless of classification, experienced significant physical and psychological symptom burden. A total of 20 symptoms were negatively correlated with overall functional performance, indicating a high symptom burden for those symptoms was associated with low overall functional performance. A statistically significant negative correlation between physical symptom burden, psychological symptom burden, total symptom burden, and functional performance was found.

Conclusion: Patients with COPD experience a significant symptom burden and low functional performance. Decreased functional performance was not related only to a single burdensome symptom, but may also be related to the contribution of several physical/psychological burdensome symptoms, or both. Assessment and management of these symptoms are essential and imply that alleviating these symptoms' burden may promote improved functional performance. This study supported the growing body of evidence of the need for patients with advanced COPD to receive palliative care.

Keywords: Activity of daily living; Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD); Function; Functional performance; Symptom burden; Symptoms.

PubMed Disclaimer

LinkOut - more resources