Fan Therapy for the Treatment of Dyspnea in Adults: A Systematic Review

The use of a handheld or electric fan has been proposed as one component of the complex clinical interventions used in the relief of dyspnea; however, there is a lack of consensus regarding its efficacy.

We performed a systematic review to determine the effectiveness of fan therapy for the treatment of dyspnea.

We searched the Medline, EMBASE, Web of Science, Scopus, CINAHL, PsycInfo, and Cochrane Library databases to identify all fan therapy studies published from January 1, 1946 to September 31, 2018. The search terms included "dyspnea," "dysponea," "dyspneic," "short of breath," "shortness of breath," "breathless," "breathlessness," "breathing difficulty," "labored breathing," and "fan." Searches were limited to articles in English or Chinese. The bibliographies of identified articles were also manually searched. Three authors independently assessed papers for inclusion.

Ten of the 92 unique records identified met the inclusion criteria (nine randomized controlled trials and one cohort study). Most studies (80%) were conducted in the hospital setting, and none were double blinded. Nearly half (159 [46%]) of the 344 total subjects had cancer. The most common nonmalignant disease was chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The most common duration of fan therapy was five minutes. Six studies (60%) reported a significant improvement in dyspnea with fan therapy. There are two ongoing trials being conducted based on a search of trial registries.

Limited direct evidence from randomized controlled trials indicates that fan therapy may effectively alleviate dyspnea. Additional trials are warranted to confirm this finding and explore the use of fan therapy for the treatment of dyspnea in more diverse populations and settings.