ABSTRACT
Anticipatory nausea and vomiting (ANV) is one of the common adverse effects in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.ANV is related to classical conditioning,psychosocial and demographic factors.Psychological intervention such as systematic desensitization,hypnosis and biofeedback therapy could be used to treat ANV,while some psychotropic medication including benzodiazepines and olanzapine is also helpful to prevent ANV.Now the recognition about ANV in clinical oncology is not adequate and large sample epidemiological survey of ANV is lacked.So far there are no special tools to predict and assess ANV,and the effects of pharmacological interventions also need solid evidence from large sample double-blind randomized controlled trials.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: The purpose of this research is to identify factors influencing anticipatory nausea and vomiting in cancer patients. METHODS: The conceptual framework was derived from Roy's Adaptation Model. The subjects for this study were 66 adult patients with various types of cancers, who were scheduled for a third cycle of chemotherapy or above. RESULTS: 47% of the patients experienced anticipatory nausea and vomiting. CONCLUSION: The study identified two factors, psychological symptoms (p=.002) and severity of post-chemotherapy nausea and vomiting(p=.004), which are directly related to anticipatory nausea and vomiting. These two factors accounted for 39.5% of the anticipatory nausea and vomiting. Identified environmental cues were awareness of hospital setting, sensory stimuli, and experience of chemotherapy which induced nausea and vomiting. Strategies for relieving anticipatory nausea and vomiting taken by cancer patients were religion, reminiscence, distracting imagery, positive thinking, relaxation and physical exercise.