170P Predictors for cancer-related fatigue among patients with advanced lung cancer attending palliative care department: A prospective observational study

Abstract

Background: Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) among patients with lung cancer (LC) is present before and after treatment and present in about three fourth of cases. CRF is often a common unmet need affecting the quality of life of patients with LC. We conducted this study to understand the predictors for CRF among patients with LC attending the palliative care department in our center. Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted among patients having LC. The study was conducted on patients referred to the palliative care department of Tata Medical Center, Kolkata from January 2019 to June 2019. Those patients whose Karnofsky status is less than 40, with a history of diabetes, heart disease, psychiatric disease, and psychotropic drugs were excluded from the study. Edmonton Symptom Scale was used to assess the various symptoms like pain, fatigue, nausea, depression, anxiety, appetite, well-being, cough, and shortness of breath. History of any surgery, chemotherapy, or radiotherapy along with blood investigations like serum albumin, hemoglobin, and white blood cell count was documented. Results: Eighty-four patients with LC with a mean age of 61.5 years were included in the present study. The prevalence of CRF was 48.80%. Univariate analysis revealed that the presence of cough (p < 0.001), breathlessness (p < 0.001), hemoglobin levels (p = 0.012), and radiotherapy treatment (p = 0.038) to be associated with fatigue. After multiple logistic regression analysis with fatigue as outcome variable, revealed that presence of cough [OR = 3.80; 95% CI = 1.13 to 12.80;(p = 0.031)] and breathlessness [OR = 3.57; 95% CI = 1.19 to 10.73; (p = 0.023)] as significant predictors affecting fatigue among lung cancer patients. Conclusions: Half of our patients with LC had CRF. The presence of cough and breathlessness were significant factors that affected the CRF in the present study after the confounding factors were adjusted. Further studies on this associated symptom cluster of fatigue, breathlessness, and cough have to be conducted. While managing the patients with fatigue it is important that these associated symptoms like cough and breathlessness have to be handled. Legal entity responsible for the study: The authors. Funding: Has not received any funding. Disclosure: All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.