title: Development of self-administered versions of modified baseline and transition dyspnea indexes in COPD.
abstract: In this study we developed self-administered versions of modified baseline and transition dyspnea indexes and compared the scores obtained by this method with the mean value obtained by two trained interviewers. Twenty-five patients (14 males/11 females) with chronic obstructive disease who had a chief complaint of "breathlessness" were tested. Age was 66+/-11 years; forced expiratory volume in one second was 48+/-23% predicted. The baseline total scores were 5.0+/-1.8 for the interviewers and 5.4+/-2.0 for the self-administered method. For the baseline dyspnea scores the correlations were 0.83 (p<0.0001) between self-administration and the mean value of two interviewers and 0.75 (p<0.0001) between the two interviewers. The transition total scores, obtained an average of 102 days (range, 7-377 days) later, were - 0.1+/-3.0 for the interviewers and - 0.4+/-3.0 for the self-administered method. For the transition dyspnea scores the correlations were 0.94 (p<0.0001) between self-administration and the mean value of two interviewers and 0.83 (p<0.0001) between the two interviewers. The self-administered dyspnea scores had similar correlations with measures of lung function as did the interview dyspnea scores. We conclude that self-administered versions of the modified baseline and transition dyspnea indexes provide comparable scores as those obtained by trained and experienced interviewers. The advantages of the self-administered versions include standardized methodology and computerized scoring.
authors.affiliation: Section of Pulmonary and Critical Medicine, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, New Hampshire 03756-0001, USA. donald.amahler@hitchcock.org
authors.forename: Donald A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Mahler
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ward
authors.forename: Gustavo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fierro-Carrion
authors.forename: Laurie A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Waterman
authors.forename: Timothy F
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Lentine
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mejia-Alfaro
authors.forename: John C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Baird
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D018450:Disease Progression; D004417:Dyspnea / Q000145:classification* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D005541:Forced Expiratory Volume / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires