Adverse dermatoneurological events and impacts on daily activities of patients with gastrointestinal neoplasms undergoing chemotherapy.
Rafaela Moreira da Silva Canille, Maria Helena Pinto, Katia Jaira Galisteu and 3 others
PMID 36722645WHAT IT FOUND
In patients receiving chemotherapy for gastrointestinal cancers, peripheral neuropathy symptoms were associated with daily-activity interference, while grade 1 hand-foot syndrome was not.
Nurses assessing these patients should ask about neuropathy.
Key findings
01Grade 1 hand-foot syndrome was the most frequent hand-foot syndrome grade and was not directly related to interference in daily habits.
02Neuropathic symptoms were moderately to strongly correlated with interference in activities of daily living, especially in later treatment cycles.
03Peripheral neuropathy negatively affected activities of daily living, and neuropathic symptom intensity increased with treatment cycles.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only 36 patients were analysed after 108 of 144 candidates were excluded, so the study is small and may not represent all gastrointestinal cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. It was a single-site observational study, so it describes associations in this group rather than a tested intervention effect. The CIPN tool did not distinguish sensory from motor neuropathy. Hand-foot syndrome comparisons could not be made in cycles 1, 5, 6, 7 and 8 because there was no variability in presence. Therapeutic change, disease progression and loss of follow-up were acknowledged limitations. All participants received the same educational guidelines, so the contribution of any single component of care cannot be separated.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that hand-foot syndrome limits daily activities. Grade 1 hand-foot syndrome was not associated with interference, and later cycles had no variability for comparison. The daily-activity interference was linked to peripheral neuropathy symptoms, and the study did not test whether nursing education or monitoring improved outcomes.