Fan therapy for cough: case report and literature review

2020 ◽  
pp. bmjspcare-2020-002363
Author(s):  
Anna Elizabeth Sutherland ◽  
Matthew Carey ◽  
Mary Miller

This case report describes the care of a 59-year-old woman with metastatic small cell lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who was highly symptomatic with an intractable cough. The patient reported a subjective benefit from a table fan. The authors observed an objective improvement with a marked reduction in cough frequency when the fan was in use. A literature review was undertaken and identified one randomised controlled trial assessing the use of fan for cough. The proposed underlying mechanism of cough relief is stimulation of the trigeminal nerve, possibly by cooling. This mechanism is well described in breathlessness. It presents the possibility of a novel therapeutic approach to managing cough. Further studies of both the role of nasal receptors in cough pathophysiology and the role of fan therapy in cough, where there is no concern of an airborne infectious pathogen such as COVID-19, are warranted.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucy L Marlow ◽  
Angeline HY Lee ◽  
Emma Hedley ◽  
Michael P Grocott ◽  
Michael C Steiner ◽  
...  

AbstractBackgroundPatients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are at increased risk of complications and death following surgery. Pulmonary complications are particularly prominent. Pulmonary rehabilitation is a course of physical exercise and education that helps people with COPD manage their condition. Although proven to improve health outcomes in patients with stable COPD, it has never been formally tested as a pre-surgical intervention in patients scheduled for non-cardiothoracic surgery. If a beneficial effect were to be demonstrated, pulmonary rehabilitation for pre-surgical patients with COPD might be rapidly implemented across the National Health Service, as pulmonary rehabilitation courses are already well established across much of the United Kingdom (UK).MethodsWe performed a feasibility study to test study procedures and barriers to identification and recruitment to a randomised controlled trial testing whether pulmonary rehabilitation, delivered before major abdominal surgery in a population of people with COPD, would reduce the incidence of post-operative pulmonary complications. This study was run in two UK centres (Oxford and Newcastle upon Tyne).ResultsWe determined that a full randomised controlled trial would not be feasible, due to failure to identify and recruit participants. We identified an unmet need to identify more effectively patients with COPD earlier in the surgical pathway. Service evaluations suggested that barriers to identification and recruitment would likely be the same across other UK hospitals.ConclusionsAlthough pulmonary rehabilitation is a potentially beneficial intervention to prevent post-operative pulmonary complications, a randomised controlled trial is unlikely to recruit sufficient participants to answer our study question conclusively at the present time, when spirometry is not automatically conducted in all patients planned for surgery. As pulmonary rehabilitation is a recommended treatment for all people with COPD, alternative study methods combined with earlier identification of candidate patients in the surgical pathway should be considered.Trial registrationISRCTN 29696295, http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN29696295, registered 31st August 2017


2018 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 1701567 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise Rose ◽  
Laura Istanboulian ◽  
Lise Carriere ◽  
Anna Thomas ◽  
Han-Byul Lee ◽  
...  

We sought to evaluate the effectiveness of a multi-component, case manager-led exacerbation prevention/management model for reducing emergency department visits. Secondary outcomes included hospitalisation, mortality, health-related quality of life, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) severity, COPD self-efficacy, anxiety and depression.Two-centre randomised controlled trial recruiting patients with ≥2 prognostically important COPD-associated comorbidities. We compared our multi-component intervention including individualised care/action plans and telephone consults (12-weekly then 9-monthly) with usual care (both groups). We used zero-inflated Poisson models to examine emergency department visits and hospitalisation; Cox proportional hazard model for mortality.We randomised 470 participants (236 intervention, 234 control). There were no differences in number of emergency department visits or hospital admissions between groups. We detected difference in emergency department visit risk, for those that visited the emergency department, favouring the intervention (RR 0.74, 95% CI 0.63–0.86). Similarly, risk of hospital admission was lower in the intervention group for those requiring hospital admission (RR 0.69, 95% CI 0.54–0.88). Fewer intervention patients died (21 versus 36) (HR 0.56, 95% CI 0.32–0.95). No differences were detected in other secondary outcomes.Our multi-component, case manager-led exacerbation prevention/management model resulted in no difference in emergency department visits, hospital admissions and other secondary outcomes. Estimated risk of death (intervention) was nearly half that of the control.


Thorax ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. thoraxjnl-2021-217072
Author(s):  
Enya Daynes ◽  
Neil Greening ◽  
Sally J Singh

BackgroundChronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterised by symptomatic dyspnoea and reduced exercise tolerance, in part as a result muscle weakness, for which inspiratory muscle training (IMT) may be useful. Excess mucus hypersecretion commonly coexists in COPD and may lead to reduce ventilation, further impacting on breathlessness. Devices for sputum clearance may be employed to aid mucus expectoration. This trial aimed to explore the effectiveness of a combined IMT and high-frequency airway oscillating (HFAO) device in the management of dyspnoea.MethodsThis was a double-blinded, randomised sham-controlled trial which recruited symptomatic patients with COPD. Patients were randomised to either a HFAO device (Aerosure) or sham device for 8 weeks, three times a day. The primary outcome was the Chronic Respiratory Questionnaire dyspnoea (CRQ-D) domain. Pre-specified subgroup analyses were performed including those with respiratory muscle weakness, excessive sputum and frequent exacerbators.Results104 participants (68% men, mean (SD) age 69.75 years (7.41), forced expiratory volume in 1 s per cent predicted 48.22% (18.75)) were recruited to this study with 96 participants completing. No difference in CRQ-D was seen between groups (0·28, 95% CI −0.19 to 0.75, p=0.24), though meaningful improvements were seen over time in both groups (mean (SD) HFAO 0.45 (0.78), p<0.01; sham 0.73 (1.09), p<0.01). Maximal inspiratory pressure significantly improved in the HFAO group over sham (5.26, 95% CI 0.34 to 10.19, p=0.05). Similar patterns were seen in the subgroup analysis.ConclusionThere were no statistical differences between the HFAO and the sham group in improving dyspnoea measured by the CRQ-D.Trial registration numberISRCTN45695543.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 120-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cosei Valentin-Caius ◽  
Borcea Corina-Ioana ◽  
Zaharie Ana-Maria ◽  
Mihaltan Florin-Dumitru ◽  
Deleanu Oana-Claudia

The benefit of non-invasive ventilation (NIV) in stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remains controversial. However, there is increasingly more evidence of NIV efficiency, especially high-flow NIV. This review presents the old and the new evidence of NIV effectiveness in stable COPD, considering pathophysiological arguments for NIV in COPD. Guidelines, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and crossover studies included in review and metaanalysis based on patient-reported outcomes (PROs) have been analyzed. The role of NIV in rehabilitation and in palliative care and the role of telemedicine in relation with NIV are still up for debate. Challenges in choosing the right device and the optimal mode of ventilation still exist. There are also discussions on the criteria for patient inclusion and on how to meet them. More studies are needed to determine the ideal candidate for chronic NIV and to explain all the benefits of using NIV.


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