KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The study aimed to identify symptom clusters and their sentinel symptoms in patients with lung cancer undergoing chemotherapy.
- The results revealed that targeting sentinel symptoms may optimize intervention timing and mitigate symptom progression in lung cancer.
Yuanyuan Luo and the team aimed to identify symptom clusters in individuals with lung cancer undergoing initial chemotherapy and determine their sentinel symptoms.
Researchers recruited patients with lung cancer undergoing initial chemotherapy via convenience sampling. They collected patient data using various tools, including questionnaires and symptom inventories. Symptom clusters were identified using the Walktrap algorithm, while sentinel symptoms were pinpointed using the Apriori algorithm, considering symptom occurrence times.
The results revealed that 169 people with lung cancer participated in the study, identifying 4 symptom clusters including psychological (including difficulty remembering, sadness, dry mouth, numbness or tingling, and distress), somatic (including pain, fatigue, sleep disturbance, and drowsiness), respiratory (including coughing, expectoration, chest tightness, and shortness of breath), and digestive (including nausea, poor appetite, constipation, vomiting, and weight loss). Among these, sadness, fatigue, and coughing emerged as sentinel symptoms for the psychological, somatic, and respiratory clusters, respectively. However, no sentinel symptom was identified for the digestive cluster.
The conclusion suggested that patients with lung cancer undergoing chemotherapy experience a range of symptoms, often appearing as symptom clusters. The sentinel symptom within each cluster emerges early, demonstrating sensitivity, significance, and a pivotal role. Identifying and addressing these sentinel symptoms could offer a promising strategy for optimizing intervention timing and managing symptom progression.
Funding was provided by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.
Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38801450/
Luo Y, Mao D, Zhang L, et al. (2024). “Identification of symptom clusters and sentinel symptoms during the first cycle of chemotherapy in patients with lung cancer.” Support Care Cancer. 2024 May 27;32(6):385. doi: 10.1007/s00520-024-08600-5. PMID: 38801450.
