Study of symptom clusters and their influencing factors in elderly patients with acute phase stroke / 中国实用护理杂志

Objective:To investigate the symptoms and symptom clusters of elderly stroke patients in the acute phase, analyze the factors influencing the symptom clusters and to provide a basis for the implementation of targeted symptom management in elderly stroke patients.Methods:Convenience sampling method was used to select 257 acute-phase elderly stroke patients who attended Fenyang Hospital in Shanxi Province from October 2022 to January 2023, and a cross-sectional survey was conducted by the General Information Questionnaire, Memory Symptom Evaluation Inventory, Modified Barthel Index Scale (MBI), and the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), and the symptom clusters were extracted by means of exploratory factor analysis, and the factors influencing symptom clusters were explored by means of binary logistic regression analysis.Results:Of the 257 patients, 138 were male and 119 were female, aged 60 to 90 (70.34 ± 6.94) years old. Factor analysis yielded four symptom clusters, which were named oral-intestinal symptom cluster, negative emotional symptom cluster, fatigue symptom cluster, and perceptual symptom cluster according to the symptom characteristics; regression analysis showed that: stroke site and NIHSS scores were the influencing factors of the oral-intestinal symptom cluster (all P<0.05); per capita monthly family income, number of episodes and MBI scores were the influencing factors of the negative emotional symptom cluster (all P<0.05); number of chronic diseases, type of stroke, and gender were the influencing factors of the fatigue emotional symptom cluster (all P<0.05); and literacy and stroke site were influencing factors of the perception symptom cluster (all P<0.05). Conclusions:Elderly stroke patients in the acute phase of the existence of more symptoms, symptoms interact with each other to form symptom clusters, health care personnel should be symptom clusters as a unit, the implementation of interventions for their influencing factors, effective symptom management, in order to improve the quality of life of patients.

Complementary and alternative therapies for symptom clusters in cancer patients:a scoping review / 现代临床护理

Objective To identify the characteristics of complementary and alternative therapies for cancer patients and investigate the effect on symptom clusters in cancer patients,in order to provide references in management of the symptom clusters.Methods A scoping review was conducted to search nine databases,namely PubMed,Cochrane Library,Web of Science,Embase,PsycINFO,CINAHL,CNKI,Wanfang Data,and VIP,for literatures published between January 2016 and January 2024.Results Twenty articles focusing on complementary and alternative therapies were included.Four themes were identified from the retrieved articles:cancer research subjects,characteristics of complementary alternative therapies,type of symptom cluster and effectiveness of complementary alternative therapies.Specifically,the cancer research subjects in relation to symptom cluster management included those of breast cancer,advanced cancer and the cancer under radio or chemotherapy.The most commonly used types of complementary and alternative therapies in managing the symptom clusters were exercise therapies,cognitive-behavioural interventions,traditional Chinese medicine therapies,multidisciplinary collaborative models and specific interventions.Interventions for symptom clusters predominantly targeted fatigue,mental status,pain,and gastrointestinal symptoms.Conclusion The interventions for symptom clusters in complementary and alternative therapies vary across different types of complementary and alternative therapies,so as the effectiveness.Some of the complementary and alternative therapies have unidentified effects and further investigations are required.The complementary and alternative therapies currently that have been used in managing the symptom clusters were found to have shortcomings.Further studies should focus on sentinel and core symptoms of symptom clusters and emphasize the development of standardised and individualised intervention plans based on symptom management theories,hence to improve the management of symptom clusters in cancer patients.

Study of Symptom Burden and Symptom Clusters at the End of Thoracic Radiotherapy in 220 Patients with Lung Cancer / 世界科学技术-中医药现代化

Objective To investigate the characteristics of symptom burden and extract symptom clusters in lung cancer patients at the end of thoracic radiotherapy.Methods Lung cancer patients receiving Thoracic Radiotherapy were collected from 20 tertiary hospitals in China,including Guang'anmen Hospital of the Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine,during November 2014—September 2017,and the MDASI-TCM scale assessed patient symptoms at the end of radiotherapy,and descriptive statistics and exploratory factor analysis explored symptom burden and the distribution of TCM symptom clusters.Results At the end of radiotherapy,45.1%of patients reported two or more moderate to severe symptoms,with fatigue being the most prevalent and severe symptom.Fatigue(31.4%),cough(30.9%),expectoration(24.1%),distress(23.2%)and shortness of breath(20.9%)were the top five symptoms from the highest to the lowest in the incidence of moderate to severe symptoms.The enjoyment of life(36.4%)had the highest incidence of interference with moderate to severe symptoms.Exploratory Factor analysis extracted three symptom clusters,namely the excessive heat and damaged yin-Spleen and stomach disorders related symptom cluster,the heart and spleen-deficient related symptom cluster,and the lung qi-unfriendly related symptom cluster,with a cumulative variance contribution of 70.1%.Conclusion Lung cancer patients undergoing thoracic radiotherapy have a certain symptom burden at the end of radiotherapy.The identification of symptom burden and symptom group characteristics is conducive to promoting standardization of TCM syndrome differentiation and laying a preliminary foundation for formulating reasonable and effective TCM intervention measures in the future.

Correlation between frailty and symptom clusters during first oral chemotherapy in postoperative patients with gastric cancer / 中国实用护理杂志

Objective:To understand the status of frailty in postoperative gastric cancer patients and to explore its influence on symptom groups during the initial oral chemotherapy. Provide theoretical guidance for symptom management of cancer patients.Methods:A total of 133 postoperative gastric cancer patients who received initial oral chemotherapy were selected as subjects by cross section survey from Octomber 2021 to Octomber 2022 in Department of Oncology, First People′s Hospital of Changzhou by couvenient sampling method. Baseline data of patients before chemotherapy were investigated by general data questionnaire and Frailty Phenotype. Symptoms on the 2nd and 14th day of chemotherapy were investigated by M. D. Anderson Symptom Inventory-Gastrointestinal Cancer Module.Results:The incidence of frailty in postoperative gastric cancer patients was 48.9% (65/133). On the 2nd day of chemotherapy, there were four symptom clusters, namely emotional symptom cluster, gastrointestinal symptom cluster, disease related symptom cluster and neurological symptom cluster, and the cumulative variance contribution rate was 61.20%. On the 14th day of chemotherapy, there were five symptom clusters after gastric cancer specific symptom cluster appeared. and the cumulative variance contribution rate was 63.90%. On the 2nd day of chemotherapy, frailty had statistical significance on emotional symptom cluster, gastrointestinal symptom cluster andneurological symptom cluster ( t = 3.52, 2.66, 5.48, all P<0.05), which explained 7.2%, 4.1% and 15.1% of symptom group severity, respectively. On the 14th day of chemotherapy, frailty still had statistical significance on emotional symptom cluster, gastrointestinal symptom cluster and neurological symptom cluster ( t = 3.41, 5.47, 4.06, all P<0.05), which explained 7.1%, 13.2% and 9.6% of symptom group severity, respectively. Conclusions:The incidence of frailty in patients with postoperative gastric cancer was at a relatively high level. The emotional symptom cluster, gastrointestinal symptom cluster, and neurological system related symptom cluster in patients with frailty were more serious at different time points.

Analysis on the symptom clusters and influencing factors among breast cancer patients during aromatase inhibitors treatment / 中国实用护理杂志

Objective:To investigate the symptom clusters and influencing factors among breast cancer patients receiving aromatase inhibitor treatment and to provide a theoretical basis for the symptom clusters management.Methods:From April 2020 to January 2021, 253 breast cancer patients were recruited in Peking University Cancer Hospital by convenient sampling method. All the patients were cross-sectional investigated by the demographic and clinical characteristics questionnaire, the M.D. Anderson Symptom Inventory, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. The principal component analysis was used to extract the symptom clusters and the multiple linear regression was used to analyze the risk factors.Results:During the period of breast cancer patients receiving aromatase inhibitor treatment, three symptom clusters were identified: sick symptom cluster, treatment related-psychological symptom cluster, digestive symptoms cluster. The prevalence of the three symptom clusters was 49.4%(125/253), 45.1%(114/253), 22.5%(57/253), respectively. The median severity of the three symptom clusters was 2.80, 2.00, 0.67, respectively. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that anxiety and education level were the influencing factors of sick symptom cluster ( β=0.25, -0.25, all P<0.05), anxiety, depression and educational level were the influencing factors of treatment related-psychological symptom cluster ( β = 0.34, 0.20, -0.16, all P<0.05), anxiety, depression and chemotherapy history were the influencing factors of digestive symptom cluster ( β= 0.17, 0.18, -0.13, all P<0.05). Conclusions:Breast cancer patients with aromatase inhibitor treatment are affected by symptom clusters. In order to relieve the symptom clusters, we need pay attention to the mentation, the education level and prerious treatment of the patients.

The correlation between symptom clusters and acute stress disorder in patients with brain injury / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

Objective To explore the relationship between brain injury related symptom groups and acute stress disorder( ASD). Methods Totally 301 patients with brain injury hospitalized in the Affiliated Hospital of North China University of Technology from March 2017 to March 2018 were recruited. The pa-tients were assessed by Stanford Acute Stress Response Questionnaire ( SASRQ), Brain Trauma Subscale (BIS) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Results The prevalence of acute stress disorder pa-tients with brain injury was 46. 51% (140/301). The SASRQ score of all patients with brain injury was (70. 78±28. 00). Univariate analysis showed that there were significant differences in age (χ2= 4. 172,P=0. 041),personality type (χ2= 57. 281,P<0. 001),sleep quality ( χ2= 70. 785,P<0. 001),hospitalization frequency (χ2= 43. 547,P<0. 001),depression,obsessive-compulsive and hostile symptoms between pa-tients with and without ASD ( P<0. 05). The scores of depression and obsessive-compulsive symptoms were significantly correlated with SASRQ scores(P<0. 05). The scores of hostility symptoms were significantly cor-related with SASRQ scores except for patients who lost their temper uncontrollably ( r=0. 176-0. 698,P<0. 05). Personality ( OR=0. 243,95% CI=0. 142-0. 415),sleep disorders( OR=0. 072,95% CI=0. 029-0. 178),hospitalization times(OR=0. 129,95%CI=0. 054-0. 306),depressive symptoms( OR=1. 260,95% CI=1. 061-1. 497),obsessive-compulsive symptoms(OR=1. 419,95%CI=1. 239-1. 625) and hostile symp-toms(OR=1. 253,95%CI=1. 058-1. 482) were the influencing factors of ASD in patients with brain injury (P<0. 05). Conclusion The incidence of ASD is higher in patients with brain injury. Personality type,hos-pitalization,sleep quality,depressive symptoms,obsessive-compulsive symptoms and hostile symptoms are the influencing factors,which should be paid more attention.

Investigation of symptom clusters in breast cancer patients treated with anthracycline chemotherapy / 中国实用护理杂志

Objective To explore the clinical symptom clusters in breast cancer patients with anthracycline treatment, which could provide evidence for prevention. Methods The M.D.Anderson Symptom Inventory of Chinese version (MDASI-C) was applied to assess clinical symptoms in 506 breast cancer patients received anthracycline therapy during their 1stto 4thcycle chemotherapy.Thirteen symptoms were analyzed using main-component analysis and variance orthogonal rotation. The exploratory factor analysis was conducted to find factors value greater than 1. Results The number of symptoms with incidence rate more than 50% was 5, 6, 7 and 9 during the 1stto the 4thcycle, respectively. Fatigue, poor appetite, and nausea were the most common symptoms, and the incidence of these symptoms were 92.5% to 97.1% ,84.8% to 95.1% and 81.1% to 91.3% with the increasing cycle of chemotherapy.Three factors value greater than 1 were detected during the 1stto 2ndcycle chemotherapy by exploratory factor analysis.The cumulative variance contribution rates were 63.233% and 61.434% in the 1stand 2ndcycle, respectively. The main symptom clusters concentrate on fatigue and digestive tract symptoms, including fatigue, sleep disturbance, hypersomnia, nausea, vomit, poor appetite, dry mouth. Two factors value greater than 1 were detected during 3rdto4thcycle in chemotherapy. The cumulative variance contribution rates were 62.660% and 61.148% in the 3rdand 4thcycle, respectively. The main symptom clusters concentrate on psychological and nervous system symptoms including sadness, pain, dry mouth, numbness, hypersomnia, shortness of breath, amnesia and so on. The Cronbach α of cluster symptoms from the 1stto the 4thcycle chemotherapy was between 0.829 to 0.911. Conclusions Symptom clusters vary with the cycles of chemotherapy in breast cancer patients treated with anthracycline. Nurses should provide targeted intervention measures to improve symptom and enhance quality of life, according to specific situation.

The research progress of survey results of symptoms cluster in patients with lung cancer / 中国实用护理杂志

There are different symptom clusters among lung cancer patients, influenced by physical, psychological and treatment factors, which may even threaten patients′ life. In this study, we reveal the survey results of symptom clusters among lung cancer patients through both qualitative research and quantitative research to provide theoretical basis for the practice of nursing intervention, so that we can further relieve patients′symptom burden and improve their life quality.

The Development of Symptom Interference and Symptom Clusters of HCC / 中国实用护理杂志

The hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant tumors.Patients with hepatobiliary cancer suffer from multiple symptoms,such as physical symptoms and psychology symptoms.In recent years,along with the further research of symptoms,the concept of symptom clusters occurred.Those two issues have always been the hot topics in recent years.Through the efforts of experts at home and abroad,there has been a part of progress in this area.However,the results are not the same.There are lots of disputes in the numbers、sequence、incidences of the symptom clusters.The paper will discuss this issue from symptom experience and symptom clusters in order to provide the reference and basis for symptom management.