Effectiveness of an intervention (effleurage and petrissage) on the severity of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) among patients: A randomized control pilot trial.

BACKGROUND

Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a dose-dependent, nerve-damaging adverse reaction with reported prevalence rates of 68.1% at the first month after starting chemotherapy; 60.0 % at the third month; and 30% at the sixth month.

PURPOSE

To determine the effectiveness of an intervention (effleurage and petrissage) on severity of CIPN among patients receiving platinum-based chemotherapy.

METHODS

Sixty patients receiving either a third or fourth cycle of platinum-based chemotherapy were randomly assigned to one of two groups with a pre- and post-test design. The interventional group received effleurage and petrissage prior to chemotherapy for a period of one month. Comparisons of CIPN levels among both groups were done at Day 7, 14, 21, and 1 month using the FACT/ GOG-Ntx subscale.

RESULTS

Prior to intervention, the mean score (+SD) of CIPN in the intervention group was 17.17 (+4.907) and 17.10 (+ 4.421) in the control group (T = 0.055, P value 0.956). The post-test scores following intervention at 1 month, was a mean score (+SD) for CIPN in the intervention group of 10.70 (±2.855) and 16.27 (±3.039) in the control group (P value 0.000).

CONCLUSIONS

This pilot result supports that the intervention (effleurage and petrissage) can be effective in reducing CIPN severity levels among patients receiving platinum-based chemotherapy.