Chest
Clinical Investigations: Emergency RoomAnxiety and Depression are Related to the Outcome of Emergency Treatment in Patients with Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Section snippets
Materials and Methods
The study comprised adult patients (> 18 years old) with acute exacerbations of obstructive pulmonary disease, both asthma and COPD, presenting during the day at our emergency department. They were all assessed as being in need of emergency treatment. They were excluded if immediate hospital admission was deemed necessary or if they were unable to perform lung function tests. All participation was voluntary, and the study was approved by the Ethics Committee at the Medical Faculty at Uppsala
Results
Fifty patients were included in the investigation. We obtained full records from 43 patients who were evaluated in this study. The mean age was 65.3 years (range, 22 to 87 years). Nineteen patients were men (mean age, 65.8 years), and 24 were women (mean age, 64.8 years). Sixteen patients (37%) had an anxiety score of ≥ 8 (probable anxiety), 5 patients (12%) had a depression score of ≥ 8 (probable depression), 4 patients (9%) had both an anxiety and a depression score of ≥ 8, and 17 patients
Discussion
The main finding of this study is that patients who had a relapse after emergency treatment of obstructive pulmonary disease are more likely to report signs of anxiety and/or depression. We have not found similar studies for comparison, but our results are in accordance with those of some other studies. In the study by Stehr et al5 involving male patients with COPD, psychosocial factors such as experiencing the loss of a first-order relative and being more pessimistic about the prognosis, were
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The assistance of Elisabeth Rydéhn, RN, is greatly appreciated.
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This study was supported by the Bror Hjerpstedt Foundation, Sweden, the Swedish Heart and Lung Foundation, and Astra, Sweden.