Shortness of breath

Although shortness of breath represents only 2-3% of all emergency department visits, it accounts for 15-25% of all hospital admissions.1 This disparity is related to the seriousness of the complaint. As we are taught in Advanced Cardiac Life Support, airway (the A in the ABCs of resuscitation) and breathing (the B) are the first two requirements for survival. If there are problems with these two functions, the patient is almost assured to have a poor outcome. Therefore, admissions for shortness of breath tend to occur more frequently than that of other complaints.