Palliative Oxygen for the Relief of Breathlessness

Completed · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Dyspnea

In brief

The main goal of this study is to establish the effectiveness of palliative oxygen in the context within which it is usually provided--relief of the sensation of breathlessness and improvement in quality of life for people with maximally-treated life-limiting illness.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT00327873

Run by

National Health and Medical Research Council, Australia

People needed

240

Starts

2005-05-01

Expected to finish

2008-03-01

Last updated by the study team

2009-12-14

Who can join

Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Adult patients with intractable dyspnea and PaO2>55mmHg in the setting of terminal illness where the underlying cause has been maximally treated; a medical specialist must document that all identified reversible causes of the dyspnea have been treated; PaO2 measurement must be in the last month
• Dyspnea at rest or with minimal exertion, as measured by a score of ≥ 3 on the Medical Research Council categorical dyspnea exertion scale
• On stable medications over the prior week except routine "as needed" medications.
• Survival of at least 1 month in the opinion of the treating physician

You may not qualify if…

• Meets international guidelines for long-term oxygen therapy with PaO2 56-59mmHg, i.e. symptomatic pulmonary hypertension with cor pulmonale
• Hemoglobin<10.0g/dL as measured within one month of baseline evaluation
• PaCO2 >50 mm Hg.
• Confusion as measured by Folstein Mini-mental Status Exam <24/30
• Current oxygen therapy or continuous oxygen therapy in previous week
• Actively smoking
• Active respiratory or cardiac event in the previous 2 weeks, not including upper respiratory tract infections; illness must be resolved for at least 2 weeks prior to baseline evaluation, as judged by a doctor involved in the care of the patient
• Previous respiratory failure induced by oxygen
• Unable to give informed consent or complete diary entries

Where it is running

• Duke University Department of Medicine, Division of Medical Oncology — Durham, North Carolina, United States
• Sydney Area Health Service, Sydney Cancer Centre — Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
• Flinders University, Southern Adelaide Palliative Services — Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
• Statewide Palliative Care Service — Launceston, Tasmania, Australia
• Austin Health — Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
• St Nicholas Hospice — Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
• Nottingham University — Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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