Patient-Reported Outcome Measures in Patients with and without Non-Expandable Lung Secondary to Malignant Pleural Effusion—A Single-Centre Observational Study
Jesper Koefod Petersen,
Katrine Fjaellegaard,
Daniel Bech Rasmussen,
Gitte Alstrup,
Asbjørn Høegholm,
Jatinder Sing Sidhu,
Rahul Bhatnagar,
Paul Frost Clementsen,
Christian B. Laursen,
Uffe Bodtger
Affiliations
Jesper Koefod Petersen
Respiratory Research Unit PLUZ, Department of Internal and Respiratory Medicine, Zealand University Hospitals, Roskilde and Næstved, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark
Katrine Fjaellegaard
Respiratory Research Unit PLUZ, Department of Internal and Respiratory Medicine, Zealand University Hospitals, Roskilde and Næstved, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark
Daniel Bech Rasmussen
Respiratory Research Unit PLUZ, Department of Internal and Respiratory Medicine, Zealand University Hospitals, Roskilde and Næstved, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark
Gitte Alstrup
Respiratory Research Unit PLUZ, Department of Internal and Respiratory Medicine, Zealand University Hospitals, Roskilde and Næstved, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark
Asbjørn Høegholm
Respiratory Research Unit PLUZ, Department of Internal and Respiratory Medicine, Zealand University Hospitals, Roskilde and Næstved, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark
Jatinder Sing Sidhu
Respiratory Research Unit PLUZ, Department of Internal and Respiratory Medicine, Zealand University Hospitals, Roskilde and Næstved, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark
Rahul Bhatnagar
Department of Respiratory Medicine, Odense University Hospital, 2900 Hellerup, Denmark
Paul Frost Clementsen
Respiratory Research Unit PLUZ, Department of Internal and Respiratory Medicine, Zealand University Hospitals, Roskilde and Næstved, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark
Christian B. Laursen
Department of Respiratory Medicine, Odense University Hospital, 2900 Hellerup, Denmark
Uffe Bodtger
Respiratory Research Unit PLUZ, Department of Internal and Respiratory Medicine, Zealand University Hospitals, Roskilde and Næstved, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark
Background: Malignant pleural effusion (MPE) affects up to 15% of patients with malignancy, and the prevalence is increasing. Non-expandable lung (NEL) complicates MPE in up to 30% of cases. However, it is not known if patients with malignant pleural effusion and NEL are more symptomatic in activities of daily living compared to patients with MPE with expandable lung. Methods: This was an observational study on consecutively recruited patients with MPE from our pleural clinic. Before thoracentesis, patients completed patient-reported outcomes on cancer symptoms (ESAS), health-related quality of life (5Q-5D-5L), and dyspnoea scores. Following thoracentesis, patients scored dyspnoea relief and symptoms during thoracentesis. Data on focused lung ultrasound and pleural effusion biochemistry were collected. The non-expandable lung diagnosis was made by pleural experts based on radiological and clinical information. Results: We recruited 43 patients, including 12 with NEL (28%). The NEL cohort resembled those from previous studies concerning ultrasonography, pleural fluid biochemistry, and fewer cases with high volume thoracentesis. Patients with and without NEL were comparable concerning baseline demography. The 5Q-5D-5L utility scores were 0.836 (0.691–0.906) and 0.806 (0.409–0.866), respectively, for patients with and without NEL. We observed no between-group differences in symptom burden or health-related quality of life. Conclusion: While the presence of NEL affects the clinical management of recurrent MPE, the presence of NEL seems not to affect patients’ overall symptom burden in patients with MPE.
