https://doi.org/10.4081/monaldi.2025.3018
The distress thermometer: a promising tool to screen patients with chronic respiratory diseases for emotional distress
Submitted: April 4, 2024
Accepted: January 7, 2025
Published: March 5, 2025
Accepted: January 7, 2025
Abstract Views: 306
PDF_EARLY VIEW: 62
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Authors
Patients with chronic respiratory diseases have variable degrees of emotional distress (ED). Chronic illness‐related ED has been shown to be an independent factor for inefficient self‐management as well as an essential factor for clinical deterioration and the quality of life in patients with chronic respiratory diseases. The distress thermometer (DT) comprises two distinct components: a visual analog scale, which resembles a thermometer, and a 39-problem list (PL) composed of 5 different categories: family, emotional, practical, spiritual/religious, and physical problems. DT has been approved as very effective in screening patients for ED in oncological and non-oncological settings. The COVID-19 pandemic has stimulated investigators to develop a modified DT (m-DT) that can be implemented for patients with COVID-19. This m-DT proved effective in screening adults, adolescents, and pregnant women with COVID-19 for ED. DT has been utilized in patients with chronic medical conditions in the non-oncological context, yet it was underutilized in those with chronic respiratory diseases. We believe that DT, with its advantages, represents a handy tool for screening patients with chronic respiratory diseases. The DT-associated PL is relatively comprehensive and covers almost all social, spiritual, financial, and emotional aspects of the screened individual’s life. Screening of patients with cancer using DT has revealed encouraging results. Similar results among patients with chronic respiratory diseases are expected. DT can be utilized efficiently to deal with mental health issues routinely as a part of rehabilitation programs for chronic respiratory disorders. Further studies are warranted.
Hatem A, Mohamed S, Abu Elhassan UE, et al. The clinical characteristics & outcomes of severe acute respiratory infections (SARI): results from Egyptian surveillance study. Multidiscip Respir Med 2019;14:11.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4081/mrm.2019.12
Abu Elhassan UE, Mohamed SAA, Rizk MS, et al. The outcomes of patients with severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) admitted to intensive care unit: results from the Egyptian surveillance study 2010-2014. Multidiscip Respir Med 2020;15:465.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4081/mrm.2020.465
Schmid-Mohler G, Caress AL, Spirig R, et al. The introducing of a model for distress in respiratory disease: a systematic review & synthesis of symptom management models. J Adv Nurs 2019;75:1854-67.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.13968
Fenwick EK, Rees G, Holmes-Truscott E, et al. What is the best measurement for diabetes distress? Comparison of problem areas in diabetes distress scale: results from diabetes MILES-Australia. J Health Psychol 2018;23:667-80.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105316642006
Schmid-Mohler G, Caress AL, Spirig R, et al. "Thrust out of normality" - how adults with cystic fibrosis experience pulmonary exacerbations: a qualitative study. J Clin Nurs 2019;28:190-200.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.14646
Schulze JB, Durante L, Günther MP, Götz A, et al. Clinically significant distress & physical problems detected on a DT are associated with survival among lung cancer patients. J Acad Consult Liaison Psychiatry 2023;64:128-35.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaclp.2022.09.001
Mohamed SAA, Abdel-Hafeez A, Kamel E, Rashad A. Utility of a modified distress thermometer in screening COVID-19 patients for psychological distress: a prospective Egyptian study. Multidiscep Respir Med 2021;16:750.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4081/mrm.2021.750
Mohamed SA, Shaukat R. Is the modified distress thermometer useful for screening pregnant women with COVID-19 for psychological distress? Cureus 2022;14:e22878.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.22878
Gamal Y, Mohamed S, Raheem YFA, et al. The usefulness of modified DT in screening adolescents with COVID-19 for psychological distress: a prospective study. Pediatr Pulmonol 2023;58:720-6.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ppul.26234
Mohamed S, Elgohary G, Abd El-Haffez A, et al. Does the distress thermometer have a utility in era the COVID-19 Pandemic? Open Access Library J 2020;7:e6643.
Sharrad KJ, Kopsaftis ZA, Carson-Chahhoud KV, Stallman HM. The modifiable biopsychosocial drivers of psychological distress for adolescents with asthma: implications for clinical care. Paediatr Respir Rev 2022;41:68-72.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prrv.2021.07.005
Makuch M, Milanowska J, Michnar M, et al. The relation between COPD assessment test and the distress thermometer results in COPD patients. Ann Agric Environ Med 2020;27:689-94.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.26444/aaem/114103
Rajpoot A, Garg K, Saini V, Gupta N. Psychological morbidity in interstitial lung disease: a study from India. Monaldi Arch Chest Dis 2020;90:1434.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4081/monaldi.2020.1434
Montserrat-Capdevil J, Godo P, Marsall JR, et al. The impact of depression & anxiety in COPD. Lung 2017;195: 77-85.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00408-016-9966-0
Muntingh AD, Gerritsen S, Batelaan NM, Bogaard HJ. Pathways to experience mental problems and need for support in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension. Pulm Circ 2017;7:609-16.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/2045893217724750
Guglielmi O, Magnavita N, Garbarino S. The quality of Sleep, obstructive sleep apnea, and psychological distress in truck drivers: cross-sectional study. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 2018;53:531-6.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-017-1474-x
Steinberg T, Roseman M, Kasymjanova G, et al. The prevalence of ED in newly diagnosed lung cancer patients. Support Care Cance 2009;17:1493-7.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-009-0614-6
Abdelaleem NA, Mohamed SAA, Abd El-Hafeez AS, Bayoumi HA. The value Modified burns wean assessment scores in a respiratory intensive care unit: an Egyptian Study. Multidiscip Respir Med 2020;15:691.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4081/mrm.2020.691
Riba MB, Donovan KA, Anderen B, et al. The distress management, version 03, 2019, NCCN clinical practice guidelines in Oncology. J Natl Compr Canc Netw 2019;17:1229-49.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.6004/jnccn.2019.0048
Pirl WF, Fann JR, Greer JA, et al. Recommendations for implementing distress screening programs in cancer centers: report of the American Psychological and Oncology Society. Cancer 2014;120:2946-54.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.28750
Roth AJ, Kornblith AB, Batel-Copl L., et al. The rapid screening for psychologic distress in men with prostatic carcinoma: a pilot study. Cancer 1998;82:1904-8.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-0142(19980515)82:10<1904::AID-CNCR13>3.0.CO;2-X
El-Aziz NA, Khallaf S, Waleed A, et al. Is it the time to implement routine use of DT in Egyptian patients with newly diagnosed cancer? BMC Cancer 2020;20:1033.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-020-07451-7
San Giorgi MRM, Aaltonen LM, Rihkanen H, et al. Validation of distress thermometer and problem list in patients with recurrent respiratory papillomatosis. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2017;156:180-8.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0194599816668307
Alosaimi FD, Abdel-Aziz N, Alsaleh K, et al. Validity and Feasibility of Arabic version of distress thermometer for Saudi cancer patients. PLoS One 2018;13:e0207364.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0207364
Sousa H, Oliveira J, Figueiredo D, et al. Clinical utility of the distress thermometerin the non-oncological context: a scoping review. J Clin Nurs 2021;30:2131-50.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.15698
Garrubba M. Use of distress thermometers in settings outside of oncology: evidence snapshot. Monash Health. 2019. Available from: https://monashhealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Distress-Thermometer_use-in-non-oncology-setting_evidence-snapshot.pdf.
Ownby KK. Use of distress thermometer in clinical practice. J Adv Pract Oncol 2019;10:175-9.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.6004/jadpro.2019.10.2.7
Bultz BD, Carlson LE. Emotional stress: the 6th vital sign in cancer. J Clin Oncol 2005;23:6440-1.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO.2005.02.3259
How to Cite
Mohamed, Sherif, Omar Abdelwahab, Ashraf M. Elsherbiny, and Nashwa Abd El-Aziz. 2025. “The Distress Thermometer: A Promising Tool to Screen Patients With Chronic Respiratory Diseases for Emotional Distress”. Monaldi Archives for Chest Disease, March. https://doi.org/10.4081/monaldi.2025.3018.
Copyright (c) 2025 The Author(s)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
PAGEPress has chosen to apply the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) to all manuscripts to be published.
Similar Articles
- Rozandeep Kaur, Neha Uppal, Vibha Uppal, Anju Sharma, Impaired glycemic control as a risk factor for reduced lung function in the Indian diabetic population , Monaldi Archives for Chest Disease: Early Access
- U. Caterino, G. Dialetto, F.E. Covino, G. Mazzarella, E. Grella, M. Massimo, The usefulness of transesophageal echocardiography in the staging of locally advanced lung cancer , Monaldi Archives for Chest Disease: Vol. 67 No. 1 (2007): Pulmonary series
- Marinella Sommaruga, Roberto Tramarin, Gianluigi Balestroni, Ornella Bettinardi, Massimo Miglioretti, Ombretta Omodeo, Antonia Pierobon, Organization of psychological activities in italian cardiac rehabilitation and prevention Survey on the implementation of guidelines for psychological activities in cardiac rehabilitation and prevention , Monaldi Archives for Chest Disease: Vol. 70 No. 1 (2008): Cardiac series
- D. Scala, S. Cozzolino, G. D’Amato, G. Cocco, A. Sena, P. Martucci, E. Ferraro, A.A. Mancini, Sharing knowledge is the key to success in a patient-physician relationship: how to produce a patient information leaflet on COPD , Monaldi Archives for Chest Disease: Vol. 69 No. 2 (2008): Pulmonary series
- H. Halilcolar, S. Yapicioglu, S. Bilaceroglu, Temporal Changes in Lung Cancer: A 10-year Study in a Chest Hospital , Monaldi Archives for Chest Disease: Vol. 69 No. 4 (2008): Pulmonary series
- S.M. Mirsaeidi, P. Tabarsi, M.O. Edrissian, M. Amiri, P. Farnia, S.D. Mansouri, M.R. Masjedi, A.A. Velayati, Primary multi-drug resistant tuberculosis presented as lymphadenitis in a patient without HIV infection , Monaldi Archives for Chest Disease: Vol. 61 No. 4 (2004): Pulmonary series
- Ombretta Omodeo, Elena Fiabane, Ines Giorgi, Claudia Grandis, Alessandra Gualco, Monica Ceresa, Psychological needs and mental health in women aged ≥ 65 years after cardiac surgery: an exploratory study , Monaldi Archives for Chest Disease: Vol. 80 No. 1 (2013): Cardiac series
- Matteo Bonini, Paolo Palange, Roflumilast is safe and effective in improving symptoms and lung function in severe COPD , Monaldi Archives for Chest Disease: Vol. 79 No. 3-4 (2013): Pulmonary series - Supplement 1
- Bruno Balbi, Claudio Marcassa, Fabrizio Pisani, Giacomo Corica, Antonio Spanevello, Integrated care of chronic degenerative non-communicable diseases and rehabilitation: the odd couple? , Monaldi Archives for Chest Disease: Vol. 87 No. 1 (2017)
- D.P. Tashkin, Smoked Marijuana as a Cause of Lung Injury , Monaldi Archives for Chest Disease: Vol. 63 No. 2 (2005): Pulmonary series
<< < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 > >>
You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.
