Asian Nurs Res.  2014 Mar;8(1):36-41.

Relationship between Quality of Life and Nurse-led Bedside Symptom Evaluations in Patients with Chemotherapy-induced Peripheral Neuropathy

• Yoo YS
• Cho OH

Abstract

PURPOSE
This cross-sectional study aimed at determining the relationship between patient-reported quality of life (QOL) and nurse-led bedside evaluations of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy symptoms.
METHODS
One hundred ninety-five patients treated at the oncology clinic at our institution were assessed using Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy/Gynecologic Oncology Group-Neurotoxicity and nurse-led bedside examinations. The relationship between self-reported QOL and bedside examinations was evaluated using Spearman rank correlations.
RESULTS
Scores of upper and lower extremity muscle strength based on the bedside examinations showed a weak negative correlation with the emotional well-being subscale of Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General. Further, weak negative relationships were present between QOL and the following nurse-reported parameters: vibration perception in the hand, upper extremity muscle strength, touch and vibration perception in the feet, and tendon reflexes.
CONCLUSION
Collectively, our results indicate that nurse-led bedside evaluation is a noninvasive and useful method for detecting neurotoxicity and evaluating the patient's QOL both during and after treatment.

Keyword

neurotoxicity syndromes; quality of life; symptom assessment

MeSH Terms

Aged
Antineoplastic Agents/adverse effects
*Attitude of Health Personnel
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Neoplasms/drug therapy
Neurotoxicity Syndromes/*diagnosis/etiology
Nurses/*psychology
Peripheral Nervous System Diseases/chemically induced/*diagnosis
Platinum Compounds/adverse effects
*Quality of Life
Questionnaires
Symptom Assessment/methods/*standards
Taxoids/adverse effects
Antineoplastic Agents
Platinum Compounds
Taxoids