The Effect of Fan Therapy for Dyspnea in Patients with Chronic Progressive Disease: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

ABSTRACT

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of fan therapy for the relief of dyspnea in patients with chronic progressive disease. Methods: A systematic electronic database search of all available articles published before October 23, 2019 was conducted using Ichushi-Web of the Japan Medical Abstract Society databases, CENTRAL, EMBASE, and MEDLINE. In addition, a hand-search for updates was performed using PubMed on June 30, 2020 and December 7, 2021. The inclusion criteria were 1) any RCTs comparing the effect of fan therapy with any other intervention, and 2) patients aged ≥18 years. Exclusion criteria were 1) duplicate references, and 2) conference presentations. Results: We identified 110 studies, of which 10 met our criteria for inclusion. Finally, five studies were used in the meta-analysis. Fan therapy significantly improved dyspnea in patients with chronic progressive disease compared to control groups with a standardized mean difference of −1.43 (95% confidence interval −2.70 to −0.17, I2=94%, p<0.0001). Conclusion: Fan therapy was found to be effective in reducing dyspnea in chronic progressive disease.