Table 2.
Frequency of use of shortness of breath codes in the year before diagnosis with lung cancer
| medcode | Description | Frequency | Per cent | Cumulative % | Certainty variable* |
| 4822 | Shortness of breath | 3226 | 24.64 | 24.64 | 0 |
| 741 | [D]Shortness of breath | 1455 | 11.11 | 35.76 | 0 |
| 1429 | Breathlessness | 1116 | 8.52 | 44.28 | 0 |
| 19 427 | MRC Breathlessness Scale: grade 2 | 1106 | 8.45 | 52.73 | 0 |
| 19 426 | MRC Breathlessness Scale: grade 3 | 1010 | 7.72 | 60.45 | 0 |
| 5349 | Shortness of breath symptom | 816 | 6.23 | 66.68 | 0 |
| 5175 | Breathlessness symptom | 785 | 6.00 | 72.68 | 0 |
| 19 430 | MRC Breathlessness Scale: grade 4 | 764 | 5.84 | 78.51 | 0 |
| 5896 | Dyspnoea – symptom | 437 | 3.34 | 81.85 | 0 |
| 2575 | Short of breath on exertion | 415 | 3.17 | 85.02 | 0 |
| 3092 | [D]Dyspnoea | 395 | 3.02 | 88.04 | 0 |
| 19 432 | MRC Breathlessness Scale: grade 1 | 332 | 2.54 | 90.57 | 0 |
| 6326 | Breathless – moderate exertion | 261 | 1.99 | 92.57 | 0 |
| 19 429 | MRC Breathlessness Scale: grade 5 | 189 | 1.44 | 94.01 | 0 |
| 2931 | Difficulty breathing | 187 | 1.43 | 95.44 | 0 |
| 12 474 | SOBOE | 166 | 1.27 | 96.71 | 0 |
| 7932 | Breathless – mild exertion | 142 | 1.08 | 97.79 | 0 |
| 735 | [D]Breathlessness | 66 | 0.50 | 98.30 | 0 |
| 7000 | O/E – dyspnoea | 49 | 0.37 | 98.67 | 0 |
| 57 903 | CLASP shortness of breath score | 44 | 0.34 | 99.01 | 0 |
| 31 143 | Breathless – at rest | 39 | 0.30 | 99.30 | 0 |
| 7683 | Breathless – lying flat | 22 | 0.17 | 99.47 | 0 |
| 6434 | Paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnoea | 19 | 0.15 | 99.62 | 0 |
| 21 801 | Breathlessness NOS | 10 | 0.08 | 99.69 | 0 |
| 11 451 | [D]Orthopnoea | 9 | 0.07 | 99.76 | 0 |
| 9089 | Orthopnoea symptom | 8 | 0.06 | 99.82 | 0 |
| 24 889 | Breathless – strenuous exertion | 5 | 0.04 | 99.86 | 0 |
| 7534 | O/E – respiratory distress | 4 | 0.03 | 99.89 | 1 |
| 18 116 | Nocturnal dyspnoea | 3 | 0.02 | 99.92 | 0 |
| 2563 | Adult respiratory distress syndrome | 2 | 0.02 | 99.93 | 1 |
| 2737 | Dyspnoea on exertion | 2 | 0.02 | 99.95 | 1 |
| 24 848 | Respiratory distress syndrome | 2 | 0.02 | 99.96 | 1 |
| 53 771 | [D]Respiratory distress | 2 | 0.02 | 99.98 | 0 |
| 22 094 | Borg Breathlessness Score: 10 maximal | 1 | 0.01 | 99.98 | 0 |
| 59 860 | Borg Breathlessness Score: 4 somewhat. | 1 | 0.01 | 99.99 | 0 |
| 101 843 | Short of breath dressing/undressing | 1 | 0.01 | 100.00 | 0 |
| 9297 | [D]Respiratory insufficiency | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | 1 |
| 37 704 | O/E – orthopnoea | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | 0 |
| 42 287 | Borg Breathlessness Score: 6 severe (+) | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | 0 |
| 57 193 | Borg Breathlessness Score: 3 moderate | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | 0 |
| 57 678 | Adult respiratory distress syndrome | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | 0 |
| 57 759 | Borg Breathlessness Score: 2 slight | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | 0 |
| 60 096 | CLASP shortness of breath score | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | 0 |
| 64 049 | Borg Breathlessness Score: 5 severe | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | 0 |
| 67 566 | Borg Breathlessness Score: 9 very, very sev (almost maximal) | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | 0 |
| 68 707 | Borg Breathlessness Score: 1 very slight | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | 0 |
| 70 061 | Borg Breathlessness Score: 7 very severe | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | 0 |
| 70 818 | Borg Breathlessness Score: 0.5 very, very slight | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | 0 |
| 72 334 | Borg Breathlessness Score: 8 very severe (+) | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 13 091 | 100.00 | 100.00 |
*The ‘certainty variable’ is coded as: 0=‘minimal uncertainty’ (all panel members agreed the code should be included in the list); 1=‘moderate uncertainty’ (at least one panel member was uncertain that the code should be included); 2=‘Maximal Uncertainty’ (at least one panel member thought the code should be excluded).
[D] terms are defined in the Read thesaurus as ‘Symptoms, signs and ill-defined conditions’; CLASP, cardiovascular limitations and symptoms profile; MRC, medical research council; NOS, not otherwise specified; O/E, on examination; SOBOE, shortness of breath on exertion.