Abstract :
Dyspnea is a predominant symptom of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and it considered as a major index of the disease severity and a prominent target of the treatment but its assessment is complex in clinical practice. The modified Medical Research Council scale (mMRC scale) is largely used in the assessment of dyspnea in chronic respiratory diseases. Aims of study to evaluate usefulness of mMRC (modified medical research council) for assessment of dyspnea severity in clinical practice in patients with COPD. Cross sectional study was carried out in AL-Emamain Al-Kadhimain medical city from 1st July 2018 to end of January 2019 hundred patients with COPD were included in this study. The sociodemographic and clinical history that related to admission to emergency and hospital wards at the last year and smoking status were recorded. Dyspnea was evaluated by the mMRC scale and classified according to spirometric measurements. 100 patients with COPD were included, mean age of the patients was 63±9.0, 80% was males and 20% was females, the mean of BMI was 27.1±5.05, 54% was current smoker and 46% was ex-smoker. The mean value of FEV1 for our patients was 55.4(GOLD2) and the mean value of SPO2, FEV1 and other parameters of spirometric findings were decreased significantly with progression of mMRC grade. Frequency of patients with late grades of mMRC had higher frequency of admission to emergency ward than hospital wards. The highest percentage of patients (32%) was in grade 2 according to mMRC and GOLD 2(50%) and there was significant association between mMRC grade and gold grade. Study shows that mMRC is useful scale for assessment the dyspnea intensity in patients with COPD.
