Latent Transition Analysis of the Symptom Experience of Cancer Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy.
Sangchoon Jeon, Alla Sikorskii, Barbara A Given and 2 others
PMID 30540701WHAT IT FOUND
Chemotherapy patients grouped into mild, physical, or physical-plus-emotional symptom profiles.
The physical-plus-emotional profile often included anxiety and depression and had poorer function. Over the scheduled contacts, more patients moved into the mild profile.
Key findings
01Baseline symptom profiles grouped chemotherapy patients into mild, physical, and physical plus emotional patterns.
02Patients in the mild profile had fewer symptoms and better physical, general health, and social function than the other profiles.
03Across contacts, the mild profile probability rose from 22.9% to 40.7% and then 48.4%, while the physical plus emotional profile probability fell to 18.7% and then 9.8%.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This is a secondary analysis of two trials, not a test of a symptom-management intervention, so it cannot show that any intervention improved symptoms. The analysis used 495 patients who completed all scheduled contacts, so it may not represent the 601 who began assessments or the 806 screened. The symptom profiles depended on cutoffs separating mild from moderate or severe symptoms, and different cutoffs could change the profiles. Some patients may not fit cleanly into one profile if their probabilities for multiple profiles were similar.
Declared interests
The authors reported no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the increase in mild symptom profile as proof that treatment caused improvement. The analysis combined data from two trials and did not test the effect of nurse versus non-nurse coach-assisted symptom management or automated telephone monitoring versus nurse-assisted symptom management.