Abstract
Home oxygen therapy (HOT) can improve survival rates of patients with chronic reppiratory insufficiency but may also lower a patient's quality of life (QOL) owing to limitations on patient's daily living and social activities because of the difficulties in handling the equipment. Thus, the ability of diazepam to improve QOL of patients receiving HOT, was evaluated in a double-blind, crossover, placebo-controlled clinical trial.
Subjects were patients with type 1 respiratory insufficiency that was stable after 3 months of HOT. After informed consent was obtained, patients were given diazepam (0.1 to 0.2 mg/kg) or a placebo once a month for 4 months. Psychologic tests were performed before adminstration to assess character and personality, and physical and mental examinations were performed at the beginning and end of each month.
Diazepam significantly reduced dyspnea without producing side effects, such as respiratory depression. Depression and anxiety tended to decrease in patients given diazepam but tended to increase in patients given placebo. Patients' QOL, as measured by the sickness impact profile, and mental function also tended to improve in the diazepam group and worsen in the placebo group. However, these differences were not statistically significant, probably because a low dose of diazepam was given owing to possible respiratory depression. Discriminant analysis suggested that diazepam had a greater effect in patients who had more severe dyspnea and some character types of Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory and the Y-G character test.
