ReviewAnnals of intensive care2024
Breathlessness assessment, management and impact in the intensive care unit: a rapid review and narrative synthesis.
Review in Annals of intensive care, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Visibility of breathlessness in fibrotic interstitial lung disease: perceptions of international healthcare professionals.ERJ open research · 2026Article
- Dyspnea is related to clinical outcomes in patients weaning from invasive mechanical ventilation with tracheostomy: a multicenter prospective study.Critical care (London, England) · 2026Observational
- Supporting Post-ICU Recovery: A Narrative Review for General Practitioners.Diseases (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Air Hunger Far Exceeds Dyspnea Sense of Effort during Mechanical Ventilation and a Weaning Trial.American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAdults in the intensive care unit (ICU) commonly experience distressing symptoms and other concerns such as pain, delirium, and breathlessness. Breathlessness management is not supported by any ICU guidelines, unlike other symptoms.
aimTo review the literature relating to (i) prevalence, intensity, assessment, and management of breathlessness in critically ill adults in the ICU receiving invasive and non-invasive mechanical ventilation (NIV) and high-flow oxygen therapy, (HFOT), (ii) the impact of breathlessness on ICU patients with regard to engagement with rehabilitation.
methodsA rapid review and narrative synthesis using the Cochrane Methods Group Recommendations was conducted and reported in accordance with PRISMA. All study designs investigating breathlessness in adult ICU patients receiving either invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV), NIV or HFOT were eligible. PubMed, MEDLINE, The Cochrane Library and CINAHL databased were searched from June 2013 to June 2023. Studies were quality appraised.
results19 studies representing 2822 ICU patients were included (participants mean age 48 years to 71 years; proportion of males 43-100%). The weighted mean prevalence of breathlessness in ICU patients receiving IMV was 49% (range 34-66%). The proportion of patients receiving NIV self-reporting moderate to severe dyspnoea was 55% prior to initiation. Breathlessness assessment tools included visual analogue scale, (VAS), numerical rating scale, (NRS) and modified BORG scale, (mBORG). In patients receiving NIV the highest reported median (interquartile range [IQR]) VAS, NRS and mBORG scores were 6.2cm (0-10 cm), 5 (2-7) and 6 (2.3-7) respectively (moderate to severe breathlessness). In patients receiving either NIV or HFOT the highest reported median (IQR) VAS, NRS and mBORG scores were 3 cm (0-6 cm), 8 (5-10) and 4 (3-5) respectively.
conclusionBreathlessness in adults receiving IMV, NIV or HFOT in the ICU is prevalent and clinically important with median intensity ratings indicating the presence of moderate to severe symptoms.
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