Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27917339›Full record

ArticleSpringerPlus2016

Morphine versus methylprednisolone or aminophylline for relieving dyspnea in patients with advanced cancer in China: a retrospective study.

Cong Tian, Jiong-Yi Wang, Mei-Ling Wang, Bin Jiang, Lu-Lu Zhang, Feng Liu

Open access · diamondAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in SpringerPlus, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact, top 81% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 4 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Cong TianDepartment of Medical Oncology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University of Medicine, Shanghai, 201900 China.
Jiong-Yi WangDepartment of Medical Oncology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University of Medicine, Shanghai, 201900 China.
Mei-Ling WangDepartment of Medical Oncology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University of Medicine, Shanghai, 201900 China.
Bin JiangDepartment of Medical Oncology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University of Medicine, Shanghai, 201900 China.
Lu-Lu ZhangDepartment of Medical Oncology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University of Medicine, Shanghai, 201900 China.
Feng LiuDepartment of Medical Oncology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University of Medicine, Shanghai, 201900 China.
Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital · CNShanghai Jiao Tong University · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

contextDyspnea is one of the most common and distressing symptoms that occurs in terminal cancer patients. However, there are no existing treatment guidelines for this condition in China.

objectiveThis single-center, retrospective, observational study aimed to compare the efficacy of using morphine, methylprednisolone, or aminophylline to relieve the symptom of breathlessness in patients with advanced malignant tumors and to investigate the safety of these regimens during the treatment of dyspnea.

methodsBetween August 2011 and January 2015 we retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 343 terminally ill cancer patients with dyspnea who received morphine, methylprednisolone, or aminophylline. The therapeutic effect of each treatment by means of visual analogue scale (VAS) scores was assessed and compared. Statistical methods included Chi square and analysis of variance tests. Differences were considered significant when

resultsVAS scores after treatment were (16.82 ± 10.89), (25.72 ± 15.03), and (31.95 ± 16.00) points in the morphine, methylprednisolone, and aminophylline group, respectively. These differences were found to be significantly different (

conclusionsWe found that morphine subcutaneous injection for advanced cancer patients with dyspnea was safe and typically more effective than methylprednisolone or aminophylline. Therefore, morphine treatment could significantly improve the quality of life in terminal cancer patients with short life expectancies who are experiencing shortness of breath.

Indexed as

Advanced cancerAminophyllineChinaDyspneaMethylprednisoloneMorphine

Identifiers

PMID27917339
PMCPMC5102996
OpenAlexW2549361002

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.