Assessing coughing and wheezing in lung cancer: a pilot study.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To establish reliability and validity of two self-report questionnaires, the Lung Cancer Cough Questionnaire and the Lung Cancer Wheezing Questionnaire. DESIGN: Prospective, exploratory pilot study. SETTING: Clinical oncology settings in the southern United States. SAMPLE: 31 adult women with lung cancer. METHODS: Content validity of both questionnaires was assessed through a comprehensive literature review and an expert judge panel. Concurrent validity was established by Spearman rank correlation coefficients and Wil-coxon Rank Sum tests with items from other valid tools. Test-retest reliability was assessed by percent agreement, kappa, paired t tests, and correlations. Internal consistency was determined by Cronbach's alpha. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: Cough, wheeze. FINDINGS: Cronbach's alpha showed excellent internal consistency and percent agreement, and kappa showed similarity of item responses across test-retest administrations. Nonsignificant paired t tests indicated similar mean scores, and significant test-retest correlations supported test-retest reliability. CONCLUSIONS: Preliminary testing indicates good reliability and validity for both questionnaires. Both instruments can identify people with problems of coughing and wheezing and have the potential for monitoring these symptoms over time and determining effectiveness of interventions. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: Assessment of coughing and wheezing is an important component of monitoring respiratory symptoms of lung cancer. Both of these symptoms can be amenable to interventions. Further research is needed to confirm psychometrics and sensitivity of these tools.