Palliative Care Research 2015;10(1):147-152
doi:10.2512/jspm.10.147
Effect of fan for dyspnea in terminally ill cancer patients:Case series study
Jun Kako ; Asuko Sekimoto ; Asao Ogawa ; Mitsunori Miyashita
Keywords
terminally ill cancer patients; dyspnea; fan; case series
Country
Japan
Language
Japanese
Abstract
The effects of a fan to reduce dyspnea have been evaluated in several trials worldwide, however, there has been no clinical report in terminal cancer patients in Japan. We conducted a retrospective chart review to examine whether a fan is useful for dyspnea in terminally ill cancer patients. We reviewed medical and nursing records and selected all patients(n=9)who received a fan from July 2013 and January 2014. The primary outcome measure was a decrease dyspnea measured by a visual analogue scale(VAS;0=no shortness of breath, 100=worst shortness of breath). There was a significant difference in the VAS score after treatment with the fan(40.2±11.8 versus 15.6±14.9, P=0.004). Our results suggest that a fan may help in reduces the sensation of dyspnea in patients with terminal cancer. Future prospective study is needed.
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