Patients with postadmission-onset dyspnea had sixfold higher odds of death during hospitalization
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, Nov. 18, 2025 (HealthDay News) — For non-intensive care unit (ICU) patients, admission- and postadmission-onset dyspnea are associated with increased odds of poor patient outcomes during hospitalization and after discharge, according to a study published online Nov. 9 in ERJ Open Research.
Jennifer P. Stevens, M.D., from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, and colleagues conducted a retrospective cohort study of non-ICU patients at a tertiary care hospital. Patients’ pain and dyspnea ratings were documented at each shift by bedside nurses. The associations with inpatient mortality, two-year mortality, and other outcomes were examined.
A total of 9,785 admissions were examined: 18 and 10 percent of patients reported dyspnea at admission and developed dyspnea after admission, respectively. The researchers found that compared with those without dyspnea, patients with postadmission-onset dyspnea had sixfold higher odds of death during hospitalization (odds ratio, 6.0). Patients with dyspnea had 50 percent greater mortality during the following two years compared with those reporting no dyspnea, while an even greater risk for mortality was seen for those with dyspnea on the day of discharge (hazard ratio, 2.6). Quantitative rating predictions were seen, with higher patient dyspnea rating predicting higher in-hospital and two-year mortality. No significant association was seen for pain with mortality. Associations were seen for dyspnea with longer length of stay, rapid response team activation, transfer to ICU, and discharge to extended care.
“We believe that routinely asking patients to rate their shortness of breath will lead to better management of this often-frightening symptom,” lead author Robert Banzett, Ph.D., also from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, said in a statement.
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