Symptom Distress and Chemotherapy Induced Nausea, Vomiting and Retching (CINVR) among Cancer Patients undergoing Chemotherapy

Background: Cancer patients experience a wide variety of distressing symptoms of which CINVR is a common adverse effect that not only impacts quality of life, but also treatment outcomes. It is important to address these issues from both prevention and treatment standpoints so that patients remain adherent to their treatment. Aim: A quantitative descriptive study was conducted to assess the perception of symptom distress and CINVR among cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy in Hematology and Medical Oncology Departments of Christian Medical College, Vellore. Methodology: A Non experimental descriptive design was undertaken. A total of 181 adult cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy were selected using Simple random sampling technique. Data was collected using McCorkle symptom distress scale and Rhodes index of Nausea, Vomiting & Retching (INVR) questionnaires. Descriptive and inferential non parametric statistics such as frequency distributions, mean, standard deviation, Spearman?s correlation and Chi square were used in this study. Results: The results revealed that 70.1% of the subjects perceived mild level of symptom distress and 5% of them perceived severe degree of symptom distress. 55.2% perceived mild degree of CINVR. The most commonly perceived distressing symptoms were concerns with appetite, outlook, pain frequency, fatigue, appearance and nausea frequency. The severity of CINVR diminishes over time post chemotherapy. There was statistically significant relationship between CINVR and Symptom distress (pless than0.001). Statistically significant association existed between CINVR with gender (p-0.051) and previous history of nausea/ vomiting experience (p-0.004) and between Symptom distress with gender (p-0.016). Conclusion: The study reveals that cancer patients perceived a mild degree of symptom distress and CINVR which implies that these symptoms were adequately managed. However, this warrants for further exploration and development of strategies focusing on regular assessment and interventions to manage CINVR and symptom distress.