Key result
Acute dyspnea accounts for ~30% of emergency visits, mostly from HF, with ~26% mortality.
Why the study?
In Cameroon, quantitative data on acute dyspnea in the emergency department are very scarce, prompting this evaluation of the epidemiological, clinical, and outcome characteristics of affected patients.
Cross-Sectional (n=64)
No
In a Cameroonian emergency department, acute dyspnea accounted for nearly 30% of admissions, was predominantly driven by heart failure and pulmonary embolism, and carried a high mortality rate of 26%.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
High mortality in ED dyspnea warrants vigilance; leaves open prospective validation of etiology-driven protocols.
Background Acute dyspnea is a common serious symptom. Its prevalence in hospitals vary depending on the population considered. In Cameroon, quantitative data on dyspnea at the emergency department are very scarce. The general objective was to study the epidemiological, clinical and outcome of patients with dyspnea in the emergency department of the Yaoundé university teaching hospital. Methods We carried out a descriptive, cross-sectional study of all cases of dyspnea in the emergency department of the Yaoundé university teaching hospital, from February to April 2026. Epidemiological, clinical and outcome variables were entered and analyzed with SPSS version 26.0 software. Results During our study 216 patients were recorded, 152 cases were excluded and 64 cases retained. The frequency of dyspnea was 29.62%, the mean age was 60.75±16 years with a sex ratio of 1.36. The most frequent comorbidity was hypertension with 62.5%, dyspnea stage IV was present in 56%, heart failure was the commonest etiology in 40.6%, followed by pulmonary embolism. The average duration at emergency unit was 4± 3,6 days. Favourable outcome in 57.8% of cases and we recorded 26% of deaths in our study. Conclusion The frequency of dyspnea was high in old patients, Its etiologies were dominated by heart failure and pulmonary embolism.
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Bonaventure et al. (2026) conducted a cross-sectional in Acute dyspnea (n=64). Acute dyspnea presentation was evaluated on In-hospital mortality and clinical outcome. Acute dyspnea in the emergency department had a frequency of 29.62%, was primarily caused by heart failure, and resulted in a 26% mortality rate.
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