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Breathlessness - Management
Basis for recommendation
Investigations to confirm the cause
- Experts recommend arranging investigations to confirm the cause of breathlessness, because individual symptoms and signs associated with breathlessness are insufficiently specific to confirm a diagnosis [Hopkin, 2010].
Management of people with interstitial lung disease
- CKS recommends referral for people with breathlessness associated with a restrictive pattern on spirometry (suggestive of interstitial lung disease) because specialist investigations are needed to determine the cause.
Management of pleural effusion
- CKS recommends referral or admission for people with pleural effusions large enough to cause breathlessness, because specialist treatment is needed to drain the effusion and investigate the cause.
Management of abdominal splinting caused by ascites
- CKS recommends referral for people with ascites because specialist treatment is needed for drainage and to investigate the underlying cause.
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