Dyspnea

Abstract

Dyspnea is a subjective symptom and highly prevalent in cancer patients. It is important to identify the causes of dyspnea in assessing dyspnea. Subjective symptom scale (e. g. numerical rating scale) is useful to assess the severity of dyspnea. With regard to treatment, treatments for the cause of dyspnea (e. g. radiation therapy or chemotherapy for cancer) should be specified first. Symptomatic treatment includes oxygen therapy, pharmacological treatment, and the like. Morphine is the first-line drug for dyspnea in pharmacological treatment. Concerning diseases relating to dyspnea, I also mention about malignant pleural effusion and death rattle.