Measurement of Irritability in Cancer Patients.
Amy Y Zhang, Stephen J Ganocy
PMID 31764606WHAT IT FOUND
Cancer patients' irritability scores rose during chemotherapy on a new 35-item questionnaire that asked about the past seven days.
The score was consistent across items, but the tool is preliminary and not ready to change care.
Key findings
01The new irritability questionnaire has 35 items covering physical, mood, and behavioral symptoms over the past seven days.
02Patients' total irritability scores rose from before chemotherapy to three months during chemotherapy.
03The 35 items moved together strongly, and scores were related when patients repeated the questionnaire within two weeks.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The final testing used only early-stage breast cancer patients, and the sample was 20 White and 28 African American participants. The sample oversampled African American patients and had relatively high education and income, so results may not apply to other groups. There was no gold standard or comparison group for irritability, so criterion validity was not tested. The factor analysis was unstable because the sample was small, and three behavioral items loaded more on mood. Biomarker correlations were inconsistent and need replication. The scale was tested only around chemotherapy, so irritability patterns in patients not receiving chemotherapy may differ.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The supplied publication types list NIH extramural and U.S. Government non-PHS research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume the scale is ready for routine care. It was tested only in 20 White and 28 African American women with early breast cancer, and the authors say it is preliminary and needs larger testing.