From the authors:
- *Dept of Respiratory Medicine and Allergy, Tosei General Hospital, Seto
- #Dept of Respiratory Medicine and Allergology, Kinki University School of Medicine, Osaka-sayama, Japan
- H. Taniguchi, Dept of Respiratory Medicine and Allergy, Tosei General Hospital, Seto, Aichi 489-8642, Japan. E-mail: taniguchi{at}tosei.or.jp
From the authors:
We read with genuine interest the correspondence of D. Aggarwal and P.R. Mohapatra, in which they commented on our article demonstrating the relationship between daily dyspnoea and survival in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) 1.
Acute exacerbation of IPF is characterised by acute deterioration of dyspnoea within a few weeks, newly bilateral lung infiltrates, worsening of oxygenation and absence of an apparent cause, such as infection and pulmonary embolism 2, 3. As D. Aggarwal and P.R. Mohapatra commented, dyspnoea deteriorates when acute exacerbation of IPF occurs. It is already known that acute exacerbation of IPF has a great impact on survival 4. However, deterioration of dyspnoea in acute exacerbation of IPF is apparently another aspect of IPF and should be distinguished from baseline daily dyspnoea. The aim of our study was to evaluate the significance of daily dyspnoea assessed using a simple assessment method at diagnosis as a prognostic indicator in IPF 1. Although evaluation of the relationship between the serial change in daily dyspnoea and survival is of interest, it should be left to future research.
It is true that dyspnoea is a subjective parameter that can be influenced by several factors, as D. Aggarwal and P.R. Mohapatra noted. However, daily dyspnoea assessed using the same method (the modified Medical Research Council scale) as used in our study has already been recognised as an important prognostic marker in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease 5. We think that it is important to interpret daily dyspnoea as a definite parameter not a vague one. Its impact on not only survival but also health-related quality of life is quite relevant.
Footnotes
Statement of Interest
None declared.
- ©ERS 2011