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Incorrect
The
patient's responses illustrate that when several types of symptoms
are relevant to a particular medical condition, the different
symptoms may not always change in the same direction or to a similar
degree.
In this case,
the patient's chest pain and shortness of breath seemed to improve,
but his fatigue became worse. There might be a variety of explanations
for this discordance.
- First,
the medication being tested may benefit the cardiorespiratory
symptoms of CHF more than the systemic symptom of fatigue.
- Second,
fatigue may be a less specific symptom for CHF and may be related
to comorbid medical illnesses, psychological distress or disorders,
or other factors besides CHF.
- Third,
fatigue may in fact be a side effect of the new medication,
explaining the worsening of this symptom at four weeks.
However, fatigue
is a well-known symptom of CHF and measuring its severity is relevant,
whether or not we can always definitely attribute its change (or
lack of change) to a single factor.
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