title: A study to assess the existence of the symptom cluster of breathlessness, fatigue and anxiety in patients with advanced lung cancer.
abstract: The purpose of this small-scale study was to assess the existence of a symptom cluster involving breathlessness, fatigue and anxiety in patients with advanced lung cancer undergoing palliative radiation. A convenience sample of 27 patients were asked to complete a set of 100mm horizontal visual analogue scales (VAS) measuring the intensity of anxiety, breathlessness and fatigue at 3 points in time: 1 day prior to palliative radiotherapy (RT) (baseline, T0), and at week 3 (T1) and week 6 (T2) after the commencement of the RT. The prevalence of the 3 symptoms ranged from 59% to 96%. At baseline the median intensity of symptoms was mild, becoming progressively worse at T1 and T2. The correlations between the 3 symptoms were moderately strong at T1 and T2 (r=0.49-0.75). The proposed symptom cluster had high internal consistency across T0-T2. These data support the notion that the symptoms--breathlessness, fatigue, and anxiety--may be viewed as a symptom cluster. The high prevalence and moderate intensity of the symptom cluster demonstrates a need for an intervention to manage these symptoms simultaneously.
authors.affiliation: Nethersole School of Nursing, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Esther Lee Building, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong, Hong Kong. whchan@cuhk.edu.hk
authors.forename: Carmen W H
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Richardson
authors.forename: Janet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Richardson
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D005221:Fatigue / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D005260:Female; D006723:Hong Kong / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010166:Palliative Care; D015995:Prevalence; D011878:Radiotherapy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000523:psychology; D012131:Respiratory Insufficiency / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric