Matura Lea Ann, McDonough Annette, Carroll Diane L
School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia , PA, USA
Massachusetts General Hospital, University of Massachusetts, Lowell, MA, USA.
Am J Hosp Palliat Care. 2016 Apr;33(3):214-21. doi: 10.1177/1049909114554079. Epub 2014 Oct 7.
Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a chronic, life threatening illness that affects primarily women. The purpose of this study was to describe the prevalence of PAH symptoms and to determine whether there are differences in symptom severity and HRQOL in PAH symptoms among young, middle, and older adults with PAH. A cross sectional design was utilized. For all the age groups, shortness of breath (SOB) on exertion and fatigue were the two most prevalent symptoms. SOB on exertion had the highest symptom severity scores followed by fatigue for all groups. Symptom severity was significantly different among the groups for palpitations, abdominal swelling and nausea. For components of HRQOL, physical functioning worsened with age. All groups had diminished general health, role physical and vitality levels. There are some differences in symptom prevalence, symptom severity and HRQOL among young, middle and older adults. Awareness of these differences is important for healthcare providers to know and assess overtime. Palliative care should be an integral part of caring for patients with PAH.
肺动脉高压（PAH）是一种主要影响女性的慢性、危及生命的疾病。本研究的目的是描述PAH症状的患病率，并确定患有PAH的年轻人、中年人及老年人在PAH症状的严重程度和健康相关生活质量（HRQOL）方面是否存在差异。采用了横断面设计。对于所有年龄组，运动时气短（SOB）和疲劳是两种最常见的症状。运动时气短的症状严重程度得分最高，其次是所有组的疲劳。心悸、腹部肿胀和恶心在各年龄组中的症状严重程度有显著差异。对于HRQOL的各个组成部分，身体功能随年龄增长而恶化。所有组的总体健康、角色身体和活力水平都有所下降。年轻人、中年人和老年人在症状患病率、症状严重程度和HRQOL方面存在一些差异。了解这些差异对于医疗保健提供者长期了解和评估很重要。姑息治疗应成为PAH患者护理的一个组成部分。
