Mar 24, 2022
This episode features Dr Diana Ferreira (Research Fellow at
University of Wollongong, Australia).
Breathlessness is frequently experienced in people with advanced
cancer especially in the last days or weeks of life.
Although cross-sectional studies have been done, longitudinal data
on changes in maximum inspiratory pressure reflecting muscle
strength are lacking.
This pilot study aims to evaluate the feasibility of measuring
changes in sniff nasal inspiratory pressure (SNIP; a measure of
inspiratory muscle strength which is non-invasive and relatively
reproducible) longitudinally in people with advanced cancer
that was likely to progress in the time period of the study and who
had no documented cardio-respiratory disease in order to better
understand changes in breathlessness at the end of life.
The study was acceptable to participants (and, by implications the
clinical teams who referred them) and feasible, given the
recruitment rate. All of the measures used would be of value in a
subsequent larger cohort study.