Self-reported symptom trajectories among chronic cardiopulmonary disease

Background: Individuals living with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) or Heart Failure may experience similar symptom experiences. However, it remains unclear how self-reported symptom trajectories develop following exacerbation states, particularly when considering the potential for the existence of concomitant disease. Objectives: To identify a plausible number of self-reported symptom trajectories over a two-month recovery period following acute exacerbation requiring hospitalization of either or both COPD or Heart Failure. Methods: A longitudinal prospective cohort study of 155 participants was conducted. Persons were enrolled in the study within 24 h of ED presentation for exacerbation or decompensation of either disease. Symptoms were assessed upon admission, discharge, and after 1- and 2-months post-discharge. Growth mixture modeling was employed to identify symptom trajectories longitudinally. Results: A linear, two trajectory solution demonstrated the most appropriate model fit, which illustrated the presence of a low overall and moderate overall symptom burden trajectory, each decreasing longitudinally over the sampled two-month period of recovery. Conclusion: Identifying these trajectories allows clinicians to identify those who may benefit from targeted services based on their reported symptom burden during this critical period of recovery following exacerbation or decompensation of either disease.