Effect of Solution-Focused Therapy on Cancer-Related Fatigue in Patients With Colorectal Cancer Undergoing Chemotherapy: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Xuemei Xian, Chenping Zhu, Yilin Chen and 2 others
PMID 34380963WHAT IT FOUND
For colorectal cancer chemotherapy patients, solution-focused therapy lowered fatigue more than usual education over 6 months, strongest by 3 months.
At 6 months, total and cognitive fatigue stayed lower; physical and affective differences faded.
Key findings
01At 3 months, the solution-focused therapy group had lower physical, affective, cognitive, and total fatigue scores than the usual-education group.
02At 6 months, the therapy group still had lower cognitive and total fatigue scores, but physical and affective fatigue scores were no longer different.
03At 6 months, the therapy group had higher physical and psychological quality-of-life scores and a higher total quality-of-life score than the usual-education group, but scores did not differ in social, symptoms and side effects, or colorectal-specific domains.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Single-site study in a Chinese teaching hospital, so results may not apply to other settings or patients unable to understand and write Chinese and communicate effectively. Follow-up stopped at 6 months; authors note fatigue and quality-of-life gains from psychotherapy can decline after longer follow-up. More patients dropped out in the control group (19.35%), creating unequal group sizes at analysis. Missing outcome data were handled by carrying the last observation forward, although completers-only analysis gave similar results. The nurses delivering the intervention and education were not blinded, so extra attention or expectation could have contributed. Patients had colorectal cancer undergoing chemotherapy and were excluded if they had radiation with chemotherapy, prior chemotherapy for current cancer, or life expectancy 6 months or less.
Declared interests
The study was supported by the Zhejiang Health Department; the supplied text does not report competing interests or author disclosures.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as lasting relief of all chemotherapy-related fatigue. The therapy group's advantage was strongest at 3 months, and by 6 months physical and affective fatigue scores were not different from usual education.