Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30410249›Full record

ArticleIndian journal of palliative care

Cluster Analysis of Symptoms of Bangladeshi Women with Breast Cancer.

Farzana Khan, Nezamuddin Ahmad, Fazle Noor Biswas

Open access · diamondAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Indian journal of palliative care. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.3field-weighted citation impact, top 37% 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

4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  3. Article
  4. Article
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

3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Farzana KhanDepartment of Palliative Medicine, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Nezamuddin AhmadDepartment of Palliative Medicine, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Fazle Noor BiswasDepartment of Palliative Medicine, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University · BD

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundBreast cancer (BC) patients may experience multiple symptoms due to the disease itself, cancer treatment or combination of both.

aimThe aim of the present study was to express multiple symptoms experienced by the patients with BC as clusters.

methodsThis was a retrospective study. We examined symptom profiles of 120 patients with BC who attended the Centre for Palliative Care, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University in Dhaka, Bangladesh, from January 2009 to December 2013. We included all case sheets of BC patients, which had documentation of needed information. Following symptoms were analyzed: pain, nausea, loss of appetite, constipation, weakness, cough, breathlessness, sleeplessness, lymphedema, sadness, anxiety, and depression. Hierarchical cluster analysis was used to identify the natural groupings within the set.

resultsWe could identify three clusters, namely (1) "neuropsychiatric," (2) "gastro-respiratory," and (3) "miscellaneous" symptom clusters. The symptoms in cluster 2 comprised of cough, breathlessness, nausea, and constipation. Cluster 1 was characterized by pain, depression, anxiety, weakness, sleeplessness, and loss of appetite. Cluster 2 was comprised of cough, breathlessness, nausea, and constipation. Cluster 3 consisted of two symptoms lymphedema and sadness. The results revealed that the multiple symptoms of patients with BC experienced had been clustered together. Neuropsychiatric symptoms and weakness formed a significant strong relationship with each other.

conclusionKnowledge obtained from this study could be beneficial for better understanding, assessment, and management of symptom clusters in women with BC. It may also help patients to plan ahead for them to seek management of concurrent symptoms to improve their quality of life.

Indexed as

Breast cancercluster analysishierarchicalsymptom cluster

Identifiers

PMID30410249
PMCPMC6199837
OpenAlexW2897721159

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-SA
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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.