title: A pilot home study of temporal variations of symptoms in chronic obstructive lung disease.
abstract: The purposes of this pilot study are to describe the 24-hr patterns of dyspnea, fatigue, and peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and examine their interrelationships. The repeated-measures design protocol involved 10 patients with moderate to severe COPD who self-assessed dyspnea, fatigue, and PEFR five times a day for 8 days. Circadian rhythms were documented by single cosinor analysis in 40% of the participants for dyspnea, 60% for fatigue, and 60% for PEFR. The 8-day, 24-hr means of dyspnea and fatigue were moderately correlated; 70% of the sample displayed significant correlations. The means of PEFR and both dyspnea and fatigue were weakly negatively correlated. The findings suggest that circadian rhythm in lung function may not be temporally coupled with the circadian rhythm in dyspnea and fatigue in all patients and that the mean self-perceived levels of dyspnea and fatigue are moderately related.
authors.affiliation: Division of Nursing, Stephen F. Austin State University, PO Box6156, SFA Station, Nacogdoches, TX 75962-6156, USA. cmccarley@sfasu.edu
authors.forename: Cynthia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: McCarley
authors.forename: Sandra K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Hanneman
authors.forename: Nikhil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Padhye
authors.forename: Michael H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Smolensky
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001294:Attitude to Health; D021081:Chronobiology Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D015400:Clinical Nursing Research; D004417:Dyspnea / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D005221:Fatigue / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005541:Forced Expiratory Volume; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D010366:Peak Expiratory Flow Rate; D010865:Pilot Projects; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects; D013147:Spirometry; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013781:Texas