Promoting Oxygen Saturation and Relaxation Level through Pursed Lip Breathing Exercise and Progressive Muscle Relaxation in Patients with Lung Cancer

--The most common symptoms in lung cancer are dyspnea and anxiety that cause restlessness on patients. This study aimed to identify the impact of PLB and PMR training program on the increase of oxygen saturation level and relaxation in patients with lung cancer. The study design was Quasi-Experiment with pre-test and post-test without control group. The inclusion criteria were patients with lung cancer who were affected by shortness of breath, admitted for at least 6 days, and provided with oxygen therapy through nasal cannula. The exclusion criteria were patient with musculoskeletal disorder, abnormal hemoglobin level, and pleural effusion. 19 participants were involved in this study. The instruments included pulse oximetry to measure oxygen saturation as well as subjective and objective monitoring form to measure relaxation level. The Faculty of Nursing of Universitas Indonesia had issued ethical clearance before the study was conducted. The results indicated a significant difference in oxygen saturation before and after PLB and PMR training program (p value < 0.05), and a significant difference in the level of relaxation before and after PLB and PMR training program (p value < 0.05). The multivariate analysis showed that age was a strong predictor of oxygen saturation. This study concluded that breathing and relaxation training program were able to promote oxygen saturation level and relaxation. Nurses are encouraged to apply this exercise for patients with lung cancer who are affected by shortness of breath. The authors suggest to apply a qualitative method by providing longer time for intervention for further study.