A symptom cluster and sentinel symptom experienced by women with lung cancer.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the symptom experience and a sentinel symptom and to describe the relationship of participant characteristics with symptom clusters.


METHODS
Prospective, correlational study.


METHODS
Clinical sites in five U.S. states.


METHODS
196 women six months to five years after non-small cell lung cancer diagnosis.


METHODS
Symptoms were measured during the past day and past four weeks. Symptom clusters were described using a novel dummy coding approach.


METHODS
Symptom occurrence and severity, demographic and clinical characteristics, health status factors, and meaning of illness.


RESULTS
About 98% of women experienced three or more symptoms in the past day. The most common symptoms reported by more than 80% of the women were fatigue, shortness of breath, anorexia, cough, and pain, with fatigue and shortness of breath rated as most severe. Sleep problems, concentration problems, and weight loss also were reported during the past four weeks. A five-symptom cluster including fatigue, shortness of breath, cough, pain, and anorexia was reported by 64% of women. Pain was identified as a sentinel symptom for that cluster.


CONCLUSIONS
Most women experienced at least three symptoms in the past day, and a five-symptom cluster occurred frequently and continued post-treatment.


CONCLUSIONS
Women who participated in the study were, on average, two years postdiagnosis, but most experienced three or more symptoms well past treatment; therefore, vigilant ongoing clinical assessment of these women is essential. A co-occurring sentinel symptom used as a clinical indicator for the presence of a symptom cluster may be useful for clinical assessment.
School of Nursing, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, USA. jebrown@buffalo.edu
Jean K
JK
Brown
Mary E
ME
Cooley
Cynthia
C
Chernecky
Linda
L
Sarna
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000855:Anorexia / Q000209:etiology; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000150:complications*; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003371:Cough / Q000209:etiology; D004417:Dyspnea / Q000209:etiology; D005221:Fatigue / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000150:complications*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000209:etiology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018571:Sentinel Surveillance; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D014481:United States