Table 3.
Aetiologies of the symptom “dyspnoea” in general practice
| N | Burri et al. 323 | Charles et al. 5200 | Frese et al. 93 | Nielsen (2001) et al. 284 | Nielsen et al. (2004) 345 | Okkes et al.f Frese et al.f (Transition Project) 3743 | Prädiktions-intervall [%] | Tau2 | I2 | P value | Random effects model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simple respiratory infect (mostly viral) | --- | 587 | 37 | --- | --- | 1498 | 3.7–79.0 | 1.3146 | 99.8 % | <0.0001 | --- |
| 11.3 % | 39.8 % | 40.1 % | |||||||||
| 10.5–12.2 | 29.9–50.5 | 38.5–41.6 | |||||||||
| Pneumonia | 11 | --- | 3 | --- | --- | 99 | 2.7–2.7 | 0 | 0 % | 0.6907 | 2.7 [2.2–3.3] |
| 3.4 % | 3.2 % | 2.6 % | |||||||||
| 1.8–6.2 | 0.8–9.8 | 2.2–3.2 | |||||||||
| COPD / chronic bronchitis | 94 | 998 | 9 | --- | --- | 112 | 1.3–58.6 | 1.3833 | 99.3 % | <0.0001 | --- |
| 29.1 % | 19.2 % | 9.7 % | 3.0 % | ||||||||
| 24.3–34.4 | 18.1–20.3 | 4.8–18.0 | 2.5–3.6 | ||||||||
| Asthma / Allergy | --- | 1092 | 5 | --- | --- | 431 | 4.9–28.6 | 0.2632 | 98.6 % | <0.0001 | --- |
| 21.0 % | 5.4 % | 11.5 % | |||||||||
| 19.9–22.1 | 2.0–12.7 | 10.5–12.6 | |||||||||
| Other pulmonary diseases (neoplasia, pulmonary embolism) | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | 18 | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 0.5 % | |||||||||||
| 0.3–0.8 | |||||||||||
| Heart failure | 115 | 946 | 6 | --- | --- | 153 | 1.6–54.8 | 1.1580 | 99.3 % | <0.0001 | --- |
| 35.6 % | 18.2 % | 6.5 % | 4.1 % | ||||||||
| 30.4–41.1 | 17.2–19.3 | 2.7–14.1 | 3.5–4.8 | ||||||||
| Other cardiovascular diseases | --- | 650 | 9 | --- | 20 | 79 | 0.6–40.6 | 1.3523 | 98.8 % | <0.0001 | --- |
| 12.5 % | 9.7 % | 5.8 % | 2.1 % | ||||||||
| 11.6-13.4 | 4.8–18.0 | 3.7–9.0 | 1.7–2.6 | ||||||||
| Psychosomatic cause | 13 | 177 | 1 | --- | 2 | 314 | 0.9–12.3 | 0.4524 | 96.5 % | <0.0001 | --- |
| 4.0 % | 3.4 % | 1.1 % | 0.1 % | 8.4 % | |||||||
| 2.3-7.0 | 2.9–3.9 | 0.06–6.7 | 0.1–2.3 | 7.5–9.3 | |||||||
| Musculoskeletal cause | --- | --- | 2 | --- | --- | 3 | 0.0–26.9 | 5.0575 | 92.3 % | 0.0003 | --- |
| 2.2 % | 0.1 % | ||||||||||
| 0.4-8.3 | 0.02–0.3 | ||||||||||
| Obesity Lack of fitness | 29 | --- | 1 | --- | 31 | 5 | 0.1–31.9 | 2.3909 | 96.6 % | <0.0001 | --- |
| 9.0 % | 1.1 % | 9.0 % | 0.1 % | ||||||||
| 6.2-12.8 | 0.06–6.7 | 6.3–12.6 | 0.05–0.3 | ||||||||
| Anaemia / metabolism | --- | --- | --- | --- | 4 | 8 | 0.1–4.3 | 1.2567 | 86.9 % | 0.0057 | --- |
| 1.2 % | 0.2 % | ||||||||||
| 0.4-3.2 | 0.1–0.4 | ||||||||||
| No diagnosis | 61 | 447 | 12 | 42 | 62 | 529 | 7.0–26.3 | 0.1503 | 95.0 % | <0.0001 | --- |
| 18.9 % | 8.6 % | 12.9 % | 14.8 % | 18.0 % | 14.1 % | ||||||
| 14.9-23.7 | 7.9–9.4 | 7.1–21.8 | 11.0–19.6 | 14.2–22.5 | 13.0–15.3 | ||||||
| Other | --- | a | b | c | d | e | |||||
a-Diagnoses in 303 cases (5.8 %, CI 5.2–6.5) are not listed at article
b-Sleep disorder: 1 (1.1 %, CI 0.06–6.7)
-Prevention/no disease 2 (2.2 %, CI 0.4–8.3)
-Diagnoses in 5 cases (5.4 %, CI 2.0–12.7) are not listed at article
c-Heart failure (systolic dysfunction, diastolic dysfunction, atrial fibrillation, valvular disease, secondary pulmonary hypertension): 48 (16.9 %, CI 12.8–21.9)
-Lung disease (COPD, asthma, α-1 antitrypsin deficiency, restrictive lung disease, thoracic deformities, lung cancer, stenosis trachea): 100 (35.2 %, CI 29.7–41.1)
-Combined heart and lung disease:40 (14.1 %, CI 10.4–18.8)
-Other well defined reason: 54 (14.1 %, CI 10.4–18.8)
d-Heart failure (systolic dysfunction, diastolic dysfunction, atrial fibrillation, valvular disease, secondary pulmonary hypertension): 51 (14.8 %, CI 11.3–19.1)
-Lung disease (COPD, asthma, α-1 antitrypsin deficiency, restrictive lung disease, thoracic deformities, lung cancer, stenosis trachea): 136 (39.4 %, CI 34.3–44.8)
-Combined heart and lung disease: 30 (8.7 % CI 6.1–12.3)
-Angina pectoris: 20 (5.8 CI 3.7–4.0)
-Neurologic origin: 2 (0.6 % CI 0.1–2.3)
-Hypertension: 2 (0.6 % CI 0.1–2.3)
-Paroxysmal tachycardia: 1 (0.3, CI 0.02–1.9)
-Intrathoracic goiter: 1 (0.3, CI 0.02–1.9)
-Allergy: 1 (0.3, CI 0.02–1.9)
-Side effect from medication: 1 (0.3, CI 0.02–1.9)
-Malignant disease:1 (0.3, CI 0.02–1.9)
e-Prevention/no disease 56 (1.5 %, CI 1.2–2.0)
-Diagnoses in 441 cases (11.8 %, CI 10.8–12.9) are not listed at article
fBoth studies from Frese and Okkes published data from the Transitions Project persist. Due to the more detailed data presentation, we extracted the data from the article from Frese et al