Symptom Clusters in Patients with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Receiving Chemotherapy

ABSTRACT

Purpose@#This study aimed to identify symptom clusters over time and examine the severity of each symptom cluster in patients with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma receiving chemotherapy. @*Methods@#Data were collected from 110 patients using the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale. The data were analyzed using factor analysis. @*Results@#Lack of energy was the most prevalent symptom on the Day 7 of chemotherapy (T1). On the day of chemotherapy of the next cycle (T2), drowsiness was the most prevalent symptom. For the timeline of T1 and T2, seven and six symptom clusters were identified, respectively. The psychological and nutrition clusters were common to both T1 and T2. The symptom scores of energy and nutrition clusters were the highest at T1, while those of the nutrition and psychological clusters were the highest at T2. Although symptom scores at T2 tended to be lower than those at T1, the symptom scores of the severe groups were still high in the nutrition, skin changes, and psychological clusters. @*Conclusion@#Some symptom clusters can either change or appear stable over time. Furthermore, the severity of some clusters was found to be relatively high. Development of stable symptom cluster-based interventions is necessary to improve the quality of life.