Respiratory muscle training reduces painful swallowing and opioid use during radiation therapy for head and neck cancer: a matched pair analysis

Table 1 Patient demographics

Variable	Home-Based RMT HNC Patients	Non-RMT HNC Patients	p-value¹
#	20	100
Age, years, Median (IQR)	60.6 (52.3, 68.8)	58.7 (54.9, 66.9)	0.92
Weight, kg, Median (IQR)	95.5 (80.4, 104.5)	87.6 (72.7, 100.6)	0.50
BMI, Kg/m², Median (IQR)	30.5 (26.1, 32.1)	28.7 (24.5, 32.1)	0.50
Sex, N (%)
Male	17 (85)	85 (85)	1.0
Female	3 (15)	15 (15)
Race, N (%)
Black	1 (5)	5 (5)	1.0
White	19 (95)	95 (95)
Stage, N (%)
I	7 (35)	35 (35)	1.0
II	7 (35)	35 (35)
III	3 (15)	15 (15)
IV	3 915)	15 915)
Site, N (%)
Larynx	7 (35)	22 (22)	0.86
Lateral Neck	2 (10)	12 (12)
Lip/Oral Cavity	2 (10)	12 (12)
Nasal Cavity/Sinus	0 (0)	1 (1)
Pharynx	9 (45)	51 (51)
Salivary Gland	0 (0)	1 (1)
Other	0 (0)	1 (1)
Treatment, N (%)
CCRT	11 (55)	60 (60)	0.61
ICT + CCRT	1 (5)	2 92)
RT	5 (25)	17 (17)
Surgery CCRT	2 (10)	9 (9)
Surgery RT	1 (5)	12 (12)
OMWQ
Overall Health	82.1 (2.9)	81.2 (15.9)	0.85
MTS	0.35 (0.7)	0.48 (0.7)	0.34
Swallowing	0.20 (0.6)	0.22 (0.6)	0.63
Drinking	0.15 (0.5)	0.18 (0.6)	0.92
Eating	0.20 (0.6)	0.24 (0.7)	0.82
Talking	0.20 (0.5)	0.35 (0.9)	0.62
Sleeping	0 (0)	0.23 (0.6)	0.08
Overall MTS Soreness Rating	10.4 (18.3)	14.7 (22.4)	0.93
Opioid Use
Opioid Medications, MME	0.65 (0.5)	0.65 (0.5)	0.51

¹Differences between home-based RMT and matched non-RMT patients were examined using Wilcoxon rank-sum tests for continuous variables and Fisher’s exact tests for categorical variables. Abbreviations: OM, oral mucositis; BMI, Body mass index; CCRT, concurrent chemotherapy with radiation therapy; ICT, induction chemotherapy; RT, Radiation therapy; OMWQ-HN, the Oral Mucositis Weekly Questionnaire–Head and Neck Cancer; MTS, Mouth and throat soreness; MME, morphine equivalents

ISSN: 1471-2407