Effects of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy on daily living: a cross-sectional survey.

Chemotherapy has several side-effects, including chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), that can substantially reduce patients' activities of and participation in daily living. Few studies have addressed this issue. We investigated the effects that CIPN has on daily living of patients in occupied Palestinian territory. We did a quantitative observational cross-sectional survey of patients at the Augusta Victoria Hospital, East Jerusalem, which provides chemotherapy, and the Dunya Women's Cancer Centre, Ramallah, which provides services for women during and after chemotherapy. Eligible patients were aged 18-65 years, had received six or more cycles of chemotherapy, did not have end-stage cancer, could read and understand Arabic, and had no other illnesses that affected the nervous system or mobility. The CIPN Rasch-built overall disability scale was translated into Arabic and two questions were added. The first was to determine CIPN-associated symptoms and the second was to add the activity of cleaning with water. The questionnaire was distributed to patients via the study sites. SPSS version 22.0 was used to analyse the data with multiple tests, such as one-way ANOVA, t test, χ2, and the Tukey test. The threshold for significance was α=0·05. Of 37 eligible patients, 32 were included (10 men and 22 women) with any type of cancer. CIPN had significantly negative effects on activities and participation in daily living (α=0·008). Women were affected more than men (α=0·001) but there was no correlation between effects on daily living and age (α=0·773), place of living (α=0·092), or chemotherapy (α=0·894). The most reported symptom of CIPN was pain (n=23 [72%]) and the least reported symptom was loss of hearing (n=10 [31%]). The most affected activity was walking uphill (mean score 1·3438 [SD 0·82733]) and the least affected activity was moving a chair (2·8438 [0·3689]). We found that chemotherapy has notable consequences for activities of daily living. This study had several limitations: small sample size, limited number of centres that provide cancer treatments. These were due to the geographical locations of such centres and checkpoints sometimes preventing access. Additionally, the statistical data about cancer patients were limited because not all centres record chemotherapy cycle numbers, and specific cancer diagnoses and, therefore, we could not include more study sites. CIPN is, therefore, probably under-reported. None. Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Citation

Rana Amro, Teny Arakelian, Aya Abd Al-Nabi, Sajida Fakhuri, Manar Jaber. Effects of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy on daily living: a cross-sectional survey. Lancet (London, England). 2022 Jun;399 Suppl 1:S15

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PMID: 35786249

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