Dyspnea Scale
Purpose: Assess the amount of shortness of breath that a patient has. This may be used at rest or with exercise to determine the patient's response to increasing activities.
Procedure: Use a numeric rating scale to quantify the amount of dyspnea.
1. Ask the patient: On a scale of 0-10 with 0 being no shortness of breath, and 10 being shortness of breath as bad is it can be, what is your shortness of breath?
Procedure for Ventilatory Response Index: Quantifies the amount of exercise intensity the patient has experienced based upon the level of dyspnea. It is measured on a 0-4 point scale. The individual will inhale with a normal breath and then tries to count from 0-15 over 8 seconds. The number of breaths taken to complete the count indicates exercise response, with a response of 1-2 being an appropriate intensity in patients with cardiovascular dysfunction.
Level 0: Able to count aloud to 15 in 8 seconds without taking a breath.
Level 1: Must take 1 breath, in 8 seconds, in order to complete counting aloud to 15
Level 2: Must take 2 breaths, in 8 seconds, in order to complete counting aloud to 15
Level 3: Must take 3 breaths, in 8 seconds, in order to complete counting aloud to 15
Level 4: Must take more than 3 breaths, in 8 seconds, in order to complete counting aloud to 15
Normal Result: A patient reports no shortness of breath at rest, and may experience some shortness of breath with activity, on the VRI Level 1-2.
Abnormal Result: Increasing levels of dyspnea at rest may be indicative of systemic pathology such as congestive heart failure. Above level 3 on the VRI with mild activity.
Reference
Gift, A. G., & Narsavage, G. (1998). Validity of the numeric rating scale as a measure of dyspnea. American Journal of Critical Care, 7(3), 200.
Frownfelter, D., & Ryan, J. (2000). Dyspnea: Measurement and evaluation.Cardiopulmonary Physical Therapy Journal, 11(1), 7. Retrieved from http://152.12.30.4:2048/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/213791877?accountid=15070
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