Fan Therapy for the Treatment of Dyspnea in Adults: A Systematic Review

Yu, Qian; Wu, Yuan; Moraes, Aline Rozman De; Yang, Xue; Geng, Yimin; Dibaj, Seyedeh; Liu, Diane; Naberhuis, Jane; Bruera, Éduardo

doi:10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2019.04.011

Cited by 34 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 21 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Of these possibilities, increased temperature of the ambient air has been shown to have a larger effect than humidity on participant-reported mask comfort, with increased humidity only affecting participant-reported facemask comfort when the ambient air was above 25 C (49). Increasing facial airflow using a fan, which reduces the temperature and humidity of the air near the face, decreases dyspnea in healthy adults and those with COPD (50), suggesting that facemasks may increase dyspnea by raising facial temperature/humidity.…”

Section: Dyspneamentioning

confidence: 99%

Face Masks and the Cardiorespiratory Response to Physical Activity in Health and Disease

Hopkins¹,

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

To minimize transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the novel coronavirus responsible for coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization recommend wearing face masks in public. Some have expressed concern that these may affect the cardiopulmonary system by increasing the work of breathing, altering pulmonary gas exchange and increasing dyspnea, especially during physical activity. These concerns have been derived largely from studies evaluating devices intentionally designed to severely affect respiratory mechanics and gas exchange. We review the literature on the effects of various face masks and respirators on the respiratory system during physical activity using data from several models: cloth face coverings and surgical masks, N95 respirators, industrial respirators, and applied highly resistive or high–dead space respiratory loads. Overall, the available data suggest that although dyspnea may be increased and alter perceived effort with activity, the effects on work of breathing, blood gases, and other physiological parameters imposed by face masks during physical activity are small, often too small to be detected, even during very heavy exercise. There is no current evidence to support sex-based or age-based differences in the physiological responses to exercise while wearing a face mask. Although the available data suggest that negative effects of using cloth or surgical face masks during physical activity in healthy individuals are negligible and unlikely to impact exercise tolerance significantly, for some individuals with severe cardiopulmonary disease, any added resistance and/or minor changes in blood gases may evoke considerably more dyspnea and, thus, affect exercise capacity.

show abstract

Section: Dyspneamentioning

confidence: 99%

Face Masks and the Cardiorespiratory Response to Physical Activity in Health and Disease

Hopkins¹,

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The authors concluded limited experimental evidence of efficacy, calling for larger trials in more diverse populations and settings. 23 A secondary multimethod analysis of qualitative interview data explored benefits of a hand-held fan as perceived by patients with breathlessness (n=133, n=21 with cancer) and their carers (n=72). Most patients with usable data (91/111) perceived some or substantial benefit, described in terms of shorter recovery time, especially after physical activity.…”

Section: Non-pharmacological Symptomatic Interventionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Management of breathlessness in patients with cancer: ESMO Clinical Practice Guidelines

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…In addition, Qian et al conducted a systematic review focused on fan therapy, which included long-term and complex interventions and concluded that fan therapy may effectively alleviate dyspnea. 22 However, longterm or complex interventions interfere with direct evaluation of the efficacy of fan therapy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Immediate Effect of Fan Therapy in Terminal Cancer With Dyspnea at Rest: A Meta-Analysis

Kako

Kobayashi

Oosono

et al. 2019

Am J Hosp Palliat Care

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Dyspnea is a common distressing symptom in patients with malignant and nonmalignant diseases. Fan therapy, which uses a fan to blow air toward the patient’s face, can alleviate dyspnea; however, its efficacy remains unclear. Aim: To examine the immediate efficacy of fan therapy for alleviation of dyspnea at rest. Design: Meta-analysis. Data sources: We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials in the Cochrane Library, MEDLINE EBSCO, CINAHL EBSCO, and Scopus from January 1, 1987, to August 21, 2018 (PROSPERO-CRD42018108610). In addition, we hand-searched studies and used the similar articles feature on PubMed to search for articles. Randomized controlled trials comparing the effects of fan therapy with placebo or other interventions to alleviate dyspnea at rest, in which patients were aged ≥18 years, were eligible for inclusion in the review. We excluded articles on long-term intervention involving fan therapy and complex intervention (including fan therapy). The risk of bias assessment was conducted using the Cochrane tool, and the meta-analysis was performed using RevMan version 5.3. Results: We identified a total of 218 studies; 2 met our criteria for inclusion in the meta-analysis. Fan therapy significantly improved dyspnea at rest in terminally ill patients with cancer compared to control groups (mean difference: −1.31, 95% confidence interval: −1.79 to −0.83, P < .001). There were no studies that met the inclusion criteria regarding fan therapy for patients with nonmalignant disease. Conclusions: This meta-analysis demonstrated that fan therapy may be an effective intervention for dyspnea at rest in patients with terminal cancer.

show abstract

Fan Therapy for the Treatment of Dyspnea in Adults: A Systematic Review

Cited by 34 publications

References 21 publications

Face Masks and the Cardiorespiratory Response to Physical Activity in Health and Disease

Face Masks and the Cardiorespiratory Response to Physical Activity in Health and Disease

Management of breathlessness in patients with cancer: ESMO Clinical Practice Guidelines

Immediate Effect of Fan Therapy in Terminal Cancer With Dyspnea at Rest: A Meta-Analysis

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About