Conference Proceedings - School of Nursing & Midwifery - Trinity ...

School of Nursing & Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin: 8 th Annual Interdisciplinary Research Conference
Transforming Healthcare Through Research, Education & Technology: 7 th – 9 th November 2007
Conference Proceedings
suggests that the patients in the control group were able to do more
for themselves than the patients in the intervention group.
There was a statistical significance noted in the quality of life scores
from the RSCL post the first cycle of chemotherapy (p=0.026)
between the control and the intervention group. The scores in the
control group were higher up to the fourth cycle of chemotherapy;
however the scores were the same post the third and fourth cycles
of chemotherapy for both groups. This suggests that the quality of
life for patients in both groups decreased as they progressed
through their treatment but was worse for patients in the control
group for the first three cycles of chemotherapy.
2 Analysis of quantitative data (Daily Diary Cards)
Summary of results
The patterns of vomiting noted from the DDCs suggest that
patients’ episodes of vomiting were worse at weeks four and seven.
Patients reported vomiting on two and a half days out of seven on
each of these weeks. Patients in all chemotherapy groups reported
days of vomiting for all fifteen weeks but the patients who received
FEC chemotherapy for breast cancer appeared to vomit the most
out of the three groups of chemotherapy. The pattern of nausea
reported appears to have been worse at weeks seven and ten.
Patients in all chemotherapy groups appear to have reported nausea
for at least one day each week for fifteen weeks. Patients who
received FEC chemotherapy reported a higher incidence of nausea
than patients in the other two chemotherapy groups.
The pattern of anticipatory nausea was noted at its highest on
weeks four, nine, and twelve. No patients reported anticipatory
nausea for week six, and patients who received FEC chemotherapy
reported the highest levels of anticipatory nausea. The pattern for
anticipatory vomiting scores was at its highest on weeks, three, six
twelve and fifteen. There were no incidences of anticipatory
vomiting reported at weeks one, two, nine, ten and eleven. Patients
in all groups reported having one day of anticipatory vomiting.
Patients’ sleep patterns were disturbed more on week eight of their
chemotherapy treatment than any other week. Patients in the
EpiCMF group reported the highest sleep disturbance than the
patients in the other chemotherapy groups. Patients reported the
incidence of interrupted activity relating to nausea and vomiting as
highest on week thirteen. Patients in the EpiCMF group reported the
highest incidence, however patients in all chemotherapy groups
reported at least one day of interruption to their usual activities due
to nausea and vomiting.
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