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Abstract
Objectives To assess the self-reported symptom burden in patients with a diagnosis of heart failure attending an outpatient cardiology clinic through the utilisation of validated patient-reported outcome measures.
Methods Eligible patients were invited to partake in this observational cohort study. Participant demographics and comorbidities were recorded, followed by participants recording their symptoms using the Integrated Palliative care Outcome Scale (IPOS) and Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) outcome measure tools.
Results A total of 22 patients were included in the study. The majority were male (n=15). The median age was 74.5 (range 55–94) years. Atrial fibrillation and hypertension were the most common comorbidities (n=10). Dyspnoea, weakness and poor mobility were the most prevalent symptoms, affecting 15 (68%) of the 22 patients. Dyspnoea was reported as being the most troublesome symptom. The BPI was completed by 68% (n=15) of the study participants. Median average pain score was 5/10; median worst pain score in the preceding 24 hours was 6/10 and median pain score at time of BPI completion was 3/10. The impact of pain on daily living during the preceding 24 hours ranged from impacting on all activities (n=7) to not impacting on activities (n=1).
Conclusions Patients with heart failure experience a range of symptoms that vary in severity. Introduction of a symptom assessment tool in the cardiology outpatient setting could help identify patients with a high symptom burden and prompt timely referral to specialist palliative care services.
- Heart failure
- Symptoms and symptom management
- Quality of life
- Chronic conditions
Data availability statement
All data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as supplementary information.
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Data availability statement
All data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as supplementary information.
Footnotes
Twitter @drmariawalsh
Presented at This study was presented at the Annual Irish Association for Palliative Care Education and Research Seminar, February 2022.
Contributors All authors contributed to the study. MW, CV and FK conceived and developed the study design. MW and EB carried out the data collection. MW and FK analysed and interpreted the results and all authors were involved in draft manuscript preparation. All authors have read and approved the manuscript, and consented to manuscript submission and to subsequent publication. MW acted as guarantor for the study.
Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Competing interests None declared.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; internally peer reviewed.
Author note In 2022 the IAPC hosted its 21st Education and Research Seminar which was a virtual event given Covid19 restrictions. The IAPC have teamed with BMJ SPC for the last two years where the winner of the platform presentation is invited to submit their research and have it published by BMJ SPC. This is a prestigious award and we are grateful to Dr. Declan Walsh for continuing to support this initiative. The presentation winner Dr. Maria Walsh.
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