The Efficacy of Fan Therapy to Alleviate Breathlessness among Lung Cancer Patients

Authors

  • Komang Noviantari Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, Universitas Kristen Krida Wacana, Jakarta, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26630/jk.v15i1.4363

Keywords:

Dyspnea; Non-pharmacological therapy; Nursing intervention; Oncology; Respiratory disease.

Abstract

Breathlessness is a commonly reported symptom among patients with advanced-stage lung cancer and significantly affects their quality of life. Nowadays, treating breathlessness using standard pharmacological therapies is considered not very effective. Fan therapy, as one of the non-pharmacological approaches, emerges as a way to treat breathlessness. This study aims to examine fan therapy's impact on alleviating breathlessness in lung cancer patients. The research employs a literature review methodology, searching for relevant articles from 2017 to 2022 in databases such as Science Direct, EBSCOhost, Clinical Key Nursing, PubMed, and Google Scholar. Five eligible articles are analyzed descriptively. The findings reveal that 80% of the articles assert the effectiveness of fan therapy in reducing breathlessness in lung cancer patients. Meanwhile, 20% of the articles suggest that fan therapy may have clinical benefits in managing breathlessness. Additionally, it was found that fan therapy can decrease respiratory rates in 60% of the articles and enhance peripheral oxygen saturation in 20% of the articles. Notably, no adverse side effects on patients were reported across all analyzed articles. In conclusion, fan therapy emerges as an economical and safe non-pharmacological intervention for mitigating breathlessness in patients with advanced-stage lung cancer.

References

Ahmedzai, S. H. (2020). Breathlessness in advanced disease. Medicine, 48(1), 23–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mpmed.2019.10.004

Bachmutsky, I., Wei, X. P., Kish, E., & Yackle, K. (2020). Opioids depress breathing through two small brainstem sites. ELife, 9. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.52694

Basara, L., Jokić Begić, N., Popović Grle, S., Jurin, T., & Samaržija, M. (2020). How much of dyspnea is psychosocial, and how much is biological? Clinical Problems, 2732. https://doi.org/10.1183/13993003.congress-2020.2732

Choratas, A., Papastavrou, E., Charalambous, A., & Kouta, C. (2020). Developing and Assessing the Effectiveness of a Nurse-Led Home-Based Educational Programme for Managing Breathlessness in Lung Cancer Patients. A Feasibility Study. Front Oncol, 10, 1366. https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2020.01366

Damani, A., Ghoshal, A., Salins, N., Muckaden, M. A., & Deodhar, J. (2019). High Prevalence of Dyspnea in Lung Cancer: An Observational Study. Indian Journal of Palliative Care, 25(3), 403–406. https://doi.org/10.4103/IJPC.IJPC_64_19

Feliciano, J. L., Waldfogel, J. M., Sharma, R., Zhang, A., Gupta, A., Sedhom, R., Day, J., Bass, E. B., & Dy, S. M. (2021). Pharmacologic Interventions for Breathlessness in Patients With Advanced Cancer. JAMA Network Open, 4(2), e2037632. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.37632

Furdui, A., da Silveira Scarpellini, C., & Montandon, G. (2023). Fentanyl-Induced Respiratory Depression and Locomotor Hyperactivity Are Mediated by μ-Opioid Receptors Expressed in Somatostatin-Negative Neurons. Eneuro, 10(6), ENEURO.0035-23.2023. https://doi.org/10.1523/ENEURO.0035-23.2023

Howell, D. (2021). Enabling patients in effective self-management of breathlessness in lung cancer: the neglected pillar of personalized medicine. Lung Cancer Management, 10(4). https://doi.org/10.2217/lmt-2020-0017

Hui, D., Maddocks, M., Johnson, M. J., Ekström, M., Simon, S. T., Ogliari, A. C., Booth, S., & Ripamonti, C. I. (2020). Management of breathlessness in patients with cancer: ESMO Clinical Practice Guidelines. ESMO Open, 5(6), e001038. https://doi.org/10.1136/esmoopen-2020-001038

Johnston, K. N., Burgess, R., Kochovska, S., & Williams, M. T. (2023). Exploring the Experience of Breathlessness with the Common-Sense Model of Self-Regulation (CSM). Healthcare, 11(12), 1686. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11121686

Julià-Torras, J., Almeida Felipe, J. M., Gándara del Castillo, Á., González-Barboteo, J., Forero, D., Alegre, S., Cuervo-Pinna, M. Á., Serna, J., Muñoz-Unceta, N., Alonso-Babarro, A., Miró Catalina, Q., Moreno-Alonso, D., & Porta-Sales, J. (2022). Prevalence, Clinical Characteristics, and Management of Episodic Dyspnea in Advanced Lung Cancer Outpatients: A Multicenter Nationwide Study—The INSPIRA-DOS Study. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 25(8), 1197–1207. https://doi.org/10.1089/jpm.2021.0562

Kako, J., Morita, T., Yamaguchi, T., Kobayashi, M., Sekimoto, A., Kinoshita, H., Ogawa, A., Zenda, S., Uchitomi, Y., Inoguchi, H., & Matsushima, E. (2018). Fan Therapy Is Effective in Relieving Dyspnea in Patients With Terminally Ill Cancer: A Parallel-Arm, Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 56(4), 493–500. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2018.07.001

Kocatepe, V., Can, G., & Oruç, Ö. (2021). Lung Cancer–Related Dyspnea: The Effects of a Hand-held Fan on Management of Symptoms. Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, 25(6), 655–661. https://doi.org/10.1188/21.CJON.655-661

Lambert, T., El Husseini, K., Zysman, M., Duchemann, B., Gillibert, A., Campedel, L., Dantoing, E., Rolland‐Debord, C., & Patout, M. (2023). Incidence, management, and outcome of lung cancer in patients with long‐term oxygen therapy. Thoracic Cancer, 14(1), 36–43. https://doi.org/10.1111/1759-7714.14692

Luckett, T., Phillips, J., Johnson, M. J., Farquhar, M., Swan, F., Assen, T., Bhattarai, P., & Booth, S. (2017). Contributions of a hand-held fan to self-management of chronic breathlessness. European Respiratory Journal, 50(2), 1700262. https://doi.org/10.1183/13993003.00262-2017

Mendoza, M. J. L., Ting, F. I. L., Vergara, J. P. B., Sacdalan, D. B. L., & Sandoval-Tan, J. (2020). Fan-on-Face Therapy in Relieving Dyspnea of Adult Terminally Ill Cancer Patients: A Meta-Analysis. Asian Journal of Oncology, 06, 88. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0040-1713332

Morélot-Panzini, C. (2017). Fooling the brain to alleviate dyspnoea. European Respiratory Journal, 50(2), 1701383. https://doi.org/10.1183/13993003.01383-2017

Nemoto, Y., Suzuki, S., Okauchi, S., Kagohashi, K., & Satoh, H. (2020). Terminological Usage Related to Dyspnea by Nursing Staff: A Cross-Sectional Questionnaire Survey. Asian/Pacific Island Nursing Journal, 4(4), 144–150. https://doi.org/10.31372/20190404.1065

O’Driscoll, B. R., Howard, L. S., Earis, J., & Mak, V. (2017). British Thoracic Society Guideline for oxygen use in adults in healthcare and emergency settings. BMJ Open Respiratory Research, 4(1), e000170. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjresp-2016-000170

Puspawati, N. L., Sitorus, R., & Herawati, T. (2017). Hand-held fan airflow stimulation relieves dyspnea in lung cancer patients. Asia-Pacific Journal of Oncology Nursing, 4(2), 162–167. https://doi.org/10.4103/apjon.apjon_14_17

Qian, Y., Wu, Y., de Moraes, A. R., Yi, X., Geng, Y., Dibaj, S., ... & Bruera, E. (2019). Fan therapy for the treatment of dyspnea in adults: a systematic review. Journal of pain and symptom management, 58(3), 481-486.

Sato, T., Taito, S., Nakashima, Y., Sakai, K., & Kako, J. (2023). Safety and Feasibility of Fan Therapy for Dyspnea: A Scoping Review. Cureus. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.43668

Sharma, R. (2022). Mapping global, regional, and national incidence, mortality, and mortality-to-incidence ratio of lung cancer in 2020 and 2050. International Journal of Clinical Oncology, 27(4), 665–675. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10147-021-02108-2

Vicidomini, G. (2023). Current Challenges and Future Advances in Lung Cancer: Genetics, Instrumental Diagnosis and Treatment. In Cancers (Vol. 15, Issue 14). https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers15143710

Webster, L. R., & Karan, S. (2020). The Physiology and Maintenance of Respiration: A Narrative Review. Pain and Therapy, 9(2), 467–486. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40122-020-00203-2

WHO. (2022). Cancer: Fact sheets. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/cancer

Downloads

Published

25-04-2024