Sutherland Anna Elizabeth, Carey Matthew, Miller Mary
Palliative Medicine, Sir Michael Sobell House Hospice, Oxford, UK
Palliative Medicine, Sir Michael Sobell House Hospice, Oxford, UK.
BMJ Support Palliat Care. 2022 Dec;12(4):457-459. doi: 10.1136/bmjspcare-2020-002363. Epub 2020 Jul 6.
This case report describes the care of a 59-year-old woman with metastatic small cell lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who was highly symptomatic with an intractable cough. The patient reported a subjective benefit from a table fan. The authors observed an objective improvement with a marked reduction in cough frequency when the fan was in use. A literature review was undertaken and identified one randomised controlled trial assessing the use of fan for cough. The proposed underlying mechanism of cough relief is stimulation of the trigeminal nerve, possibly by cooling. This mechanism is well described in breathlessness. It presents the possibility of a novel therapeutic approach to managing cough. Further studies of both the role of nasal receptors in cough pathophysiology and the role of fan therapy in cough, where there is no concern of an airborne infectious pathogen such as COVID-19, are warranted.
本病例报告描述了一名59岁患有转移性小细胞肺癌和慢性阻塞性肺疾病的女性患者的治疗情况，该患者咳嗽剧烈且难以控制。患者表示使用风扇后主观感觉有所改善。作者观察到，使用风扇时咳嗽频率显著降低，客观上有了改善。进行了文献综述，发现一项评估风扇用于缓解咳嗽的随机对照试验。咳嗽缓解的潜在机制可能是通过冷却刺激三叉神经。这种机制在呼吸困难中已有详细描述。这为咳嗽的治疗提供了一种新的治疗方法。有必要进一步研究鼻受体在咳嗽病理生理学中的作用以及风扇疗法在咳嗽治疗中的作用，前提是不存在诸如COVID-19等空气传播感染病原体的担忧。
