SUMMARY Despite a variety of measurement tools none can be recommended as gold st and ard for the assessment of dyspnoea .
A combination of unidimensional and multidimensional tools seems to be the best for clinical assessment .
PURPOSE OF REVIEW Refractory dyspnoea is a common and difficult to treat symptom in advanced disease .
Accurate assessment helps to guide treatment and prognosis .
RECENT FINDINGS The absence of commonly agreed assessment tools has been a significant barrier to improving care through inhibition of clinical research and limitation of clinicians ' ability to assess the effectiveness of their interventions .
Two recently published systematic review s on measurement tools for breathlessness identified a variety of tools but none could be recommended as gold st and ard .
For clinical purpose s , the combination of a unidimensional tool to assess dyspnoea severity and a multidimensional tool to evaluate the impact on a person 's quality of life seem most appropriate .
This review discusses the present evidence and puts forward a strategy for assessment and measurement of the symptom in clinical practice .
Does oxygen help dyspnea in patients with cancer?
Dyspnea in patients with advanced cancer is a common symptom that is difficult to treat . This study investigated whether oxygen helps to relieve rest dyspnea in patients with advanced cancer . In a single-blind controlled trial , oxygen and air were administered in r and om order to hospice patients reporting dyspnea at rest . Measurements of arterial oxygen saturation , lung function , and dyspnea ( using a visual analogue scale [ VAS ] and Borg score ) were made before and after each gas had been given for 15 min . Data from 38 patients were used : analysis of variance revealed that mean VAS levels during baseline conditions , breathing room air ( 59 mm ) , were significantly reduced after administration of either air ( 48 mm ; p < 0.001 ) or oxygen ( 45 mm ; p < 0.001 ) ; there was no significant difference for the mean VAS scores between oxygen and air administration . There was no statistically significant order of treatment effect . There was no difference in the response to oxygen or air in patients with a history of cardiopulmonary disease . The improvement in dyspnea with oxygen could not be predicted from a subject 's initial level of hypoxia . Results suggested that benzodiazepines may potentiate the effect of oxygen . The overall conclusion is that oxygen and air can have a significant effect in reducing dyspnea at rest in patients with advanced cancer
SUMMARY Despite a variety of measurement tools none can be recommended as gold st and ard for the assessment of dyspnoea .
A combination of unidimensional and multidimensional tools seems to be the best for clinical assessment .
PURPOSE OF REVIEW Refractory dyspnoea is a common and difficult to treat symptom in advanced disease .
Accurate assessment helps to guide treatment and prognosis .
RECENT FINDINGS The absence of commonly agreed assessment tools has been a significant barrier to improving care through inhibition of clinical research and limitation of clinicians ' ability to assess the effectiveness of their interventions .
Two recently published systematic review s on measurement tools for breathlessness identified a variety of tools but none could be recommended as gold st and ard .
For clinical purpose s , the combination of a unidimensional tool to assess dyspnoea severity and a multidimensional tool to evaluate the impact on a person 's quality of life seem most appropriate .
This review discusses the present evidence and puts forward a strategy for assessment and measurement of the symptom in clinical practice .