Relationship of Dyspnea to Outcomes Following Lung Resection Surgery

The overall purpose of this longitudinal, prospective, and nonrandomized study is to examine the relationships between dypsnea, functional status, and functional capacity in lung resection patients, preoperatively and 6 weeks, 3, 6, 9 months postoperatively. Subjects (N=103) are adults, greater than 19 years of age, with primary non-small cell lung cancer tumors and receiving surgical resection. No gender or ethnic restrictions are included, however, the study is limited to those subjects with English language abilities, as the study includes interviews and completion of questionnaires. Subjects will be acquired through referral from the thoracic surgical clinic and the assigned thoracic surgeon. Setting: The setting for this study is an urban university affiliated hospital located 'in the central midwest region. If required to achieve sample size, a second facility, a veterans administration facility located in the same urban area will be accessed. Instruments include the Dyspnea Indexes, Medical Outcomes Study, Short Form 36, cycle ergometry, pulmonary function studies by spirometry, and a postoperative medical record review for selected postoperative outcomes.

The specific aims are to: (a) investigate changes in dyspnea over time and examine the relationship of dyspnea to functional status and functional capacity; (b) determine the influences of immediate postoperative outcomes on dyspnea, functional status, and functional capacity following hospital discharge;(c) determine the influences of demographic variables and illness characteristics on dyspnea, functional status, and functional capacity; (d) correlate objective assessments of pulmonary function and functional capacity to subjective assessments of dyspnea preoperatively and post-hospitalization.

Long Term Objectives: The result of this study has applicability to the development of treatment pathways, home care, and discharge planning for lung resection patients. Through this study, the symptom distress of dyspnea and patient's perception of overall functional status will be compared to objective assessment of functional capacity using spirometry and exercise testing.