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.