Researchers from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and colleagues around the world describe a new science-based intervention for hiccups. In the publication, the scientists coined a new term for the intervention:“forced inspiratory suction and swallow tool,” or FISST. The team also reported the results of a survey of 249 users who were asked whether it is superior to home remedies for hiccups, such as breathing into a paper bag.
The need
“The hiccups are occasionally annoying for some people, but for others they have a significant impact on quality of life,” said Ali Seifi, MD, an associate professor of neurosurgery at UT Health's Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine. San Antonio. “This includes many patients with brain and stroke injuries and cancer patients. We had a few cancer patients in this study. Some chemotherapy agents cause the hiccups.”
Simple tool
FISST is a rigid drinking tube with an inlet valve that must be sucked vigorously to draw water from a cup into the mouth. Sucking and swallowing simultaneously stimulate two nerves, the diaphragmatic and vagus nerves, to relieve hiccups.
Powerful suction causes the diaphragm, a bundle of muscles that inflates the lungs when you breathe, to contract. Sucking and swallowing also cause the epiglottis, a flap that covers the windpipe during swallowing, to close. This ends the hiccups.
User Feedback
FISST stopped hiccups in almost 92% of cases, users reported themselves. In terms of satisfaction, 226 of the 249 participants (90.8%) answered affirmatively whether they found the tool user-friendly. On another measure, subjective effectiveness, 183 of 203 participants (90.1%) indicated that FISST was effective when they used it. Fewer participants answered this question, possibly because it was the last in the survey, said Dr. Seifi.
The tool, developed at UT Health San Antonio by Dr. Seifi with input from medical students, is being marketed by a Colorado company under a licensing agreement with the university and has been accepted by a major supermarket chain to be placed on the shelves, see Dr. Seifi.
About the study
The research project started with 600 people who, because they said they had the hiccups, got FISST. Of this population, 290 responded to a survey about their experience using the device, compared to other substances they have used. Of them, 249 answered the survey in full and were included in the survey analysis.
The scale ran from 1 to 5, with 5 indicating that respondents were very happy with FISST and 1 meaning that they preferred to use home remedies.
The respondents were mainly adults over the age of 18 (70%) and were half female and half male. Nearly 80% of the respondents were white.
As for the frequency of hiccups, 69% reported having them at least once a month, and most cases (65%) were transient, lasting less than two hours.
