Comparison of Chief Complaints and Patient-Reported Symptoms of Treatment-Naive Lung Cancer Patients Before Surgery

• Main Authors: Feng Y, Dai W, Wang Y, Liao J, Wei X, Xie S, Xu W, Li Q, Liu F, Shi Q
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dove Medical Press 2021-05-01
• Series: Patient Preference and Adherence
• Subjects: lung cancer; chief complaint; surgery; symptom; patient-reported outcomes
• Online Access: https://www.dovepress.com/comparison-of-chief-complaints-and-patient-reported-symptoms-of-treatm-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-PPA

Yaqian Feng,1 Wei Dai,1 Yaqin Wang,1 Jia Liao,1 Xing Wei,1 Shaohua Xie,1 Wei Xu,2 Qiang Li,1 Fang Liu,3 Qiuling Shi4 1Department of Thoracic Surgery, Sichuan Cancer Hospital & Institute, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610041, People’s Republic of China; 2School of Public Health and Management, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, People’s Republic of China; 3Traditional Chinese Medicine Department of Oncology, Sichuan Cancer Hospital & Institute, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610041, People’s Republic of China; 4Center for Cancer Prevention Research, Sichuan Cancer Hospital & Institute, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610041, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Qiuling Shi; Fang LiuSichuan Cancer Hospital & Institute, Sichuan Cancer Center, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, No. 55, Section 4, South Renmin Road, Chengdu, 610041, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail [e-mail]; [e-mail]: Lung cancer patients without chief complaints have been increasingly identified by physical examination. This study aimed to profile and compare chief complaints with patient-reported symptoms of lung cancer patients before surgery.Methods: Data were extracted from a multicenter, prospective longitudinal study (CN-PRO-Lung 1) in China from November 2017 to January 2020. A comparison between chief complaints and patient-reported symptoms was analyzed using the Chi-squared test.Results: A total of 201 (50.8%) lung cancer patients without chief complaints were found by physical examination at admission, and 195 (49.2%) patients had chief complaints. The top 5 chief complaints were coughing (38.1%), expectoration (25.5%), chest pain (13.6%), hemoptysis (10.6%), and shortness of breath (5.3%). There were significantly more patients with chief complaints of coughing (38.1% vs 15.0%, P < 0.001) and pain (20.5% vs 6.9%, P< 0.001) than those with the same symptoms rated ≥ 4 via MD Anderson Symptom Inventory‒Lung Cancer (MDASI-LC). There were less patients with chief complaints of fatigue (1.8% vs 10.9%, P< 0.001), nausea (0.3% vs 2.5%, P=0.006), and vomiting (0.3% vs 1.8%, p=0.032) than those with the same symptoms rated ≥ 4 via MDASI-LC. In patients without chief complaints, the five most common moderate to severe patient-reported symptoms were disturbed sleep (19.5%), distress (13.5%), dry mouth (13%), sadness (12%), and difficulty remembering (11.1%).Conclusion: Symptoms of lung cancer patients not included in the chief complaint could be identified via a patient-reported outcome instrument, suggesting the necessity of implementing the patient-reported outcome assessment before lung cancer surgery for better patient care.Keywords: lung cancer, chief complaint, surgery, symptom, patient-reported outcomes