Abstract
Objective: In this study, we investigated palliative treatment of symptoms (pain, dyspnea, etc.) and nutritional support in lung cancer patients (pts) in Turkey.
Method: This prospective multicenter study was conducted in Turkey with the participation of 26 centers and all pts with lung cancer who agreed to participate in the study were included. Demographic characteristics of pts, information about the disease and treatments were obtained by using hospital records and interview with pts. During interview, pts' symptoms were evaluated using ESAS scale and symptoms were graded between 0 and 10 points.
Results: During the study period, 1245 cases were evaluated. Among all pts, 79.6% had pain or were using analgesic, 75.8% had dyspnea or were treated for dyspnea, 45.5% had nausea, 65.7% had loss of appetite, 60.8% had depression or anxiety, 82.1% had tiredness, and 60.8% had drowsiness. Pain, dyspnea, nausea, appetite loss, depression, anxiety, and tiredness were significantly more severe in advanced stages.
Of all pts, the rate for analgesic use was 64.5%, for any treatment of dyspnea was 51.5%, for the use of appetizer/vitamin was 16.7%, for the use of enteral nutritional products was 19.8%, and for the use of anxiolytics/antidepressants was 10.6%.
Among pts with pain and dyspnea, 17.4% and 31.8% were using no analgesic for pain and no medication for dyspnea, respectively. Symptoms was under control in only 17.8% of pts with pain, 8.5% of pts with dyspnea, 9.8% of pts with loss of appetite, and 24.0 of pts with depression or anxiety.
Conclusion: We concluded that symptoms progress and become more severe in advanced stages of lung cancer, however palliative treatment of the symptoms remain insufficient in most cases.
- Copyright ©ERS 2015
