Symptom clusters and the bridge symptoms in breast cancer patients undergoing postoperative chemotherapy:a network-based cross-sectional analysis
10.3969/j.issn.1671-8283.2024.08.002
- VernacularTitle:基于网络分析乳腺癌术后化疗患者症状群桥梁症状的横断面研究
- Author:
Xinchun ZHANG
1
;
Yihai WANG
;
Ling CHEN
;
Bei ZHAO
Author Information
1. 新疆医科大学护理学院,新疆乌鲁木齐,830017;新疆医科大学附属肿瘤医院 肿瘤心脏病科,新疆乌鲁木齐,830011
- Keywords:
breast cancer;
chemotherapy;
symptom cluster;
bridge symptoms;
network analysis;
cross-sectional study
- From:
Modern Clinical Nursing
2024;23(8):11-18
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective To identify symptom clusters in breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and investigate the bridge symptoms that connect the symptom clusters,therefore to provide a guidance for precise intervention in the symptoms.Methods From October 2022 to October 2023,convenience sampling method was employed to selelct 340 breast cancer patients,who underwent postoperative chemotherapy,for investigation in the related symptom clusters and quality of life by using Anderson symptom assessment scale and breast cancer quality of life scale.Cluster analysis was performed to extract the symptom clusters by R software and the impacts of each symptom cluster on quality of life were analysed by stratified regression.A contemporaneous symptom network was constructed to identify the bridge symptoms.Results All 327 patients had completed the study.Three distinct symptom clusters were extracted:-gastrointestinal,psychological and neurological symptom clusters.The gastrointestinal cluster alone accounted for 10.2%of the variation in quality of life.Network analysis highlighted that distress(rbe=3.927,rbs=3.927,rbc=0.436),fatigue(rbe=3.907,rbs=3.907,rbc=0.434)and lack of appetite(rbe=3.842,rbs=3.842,rbc=0.427)were the bridging symptoms which had high expected influence coefficient,strength and closeness centrality index.Conclusion The gastrointestinal symptom cluster makes notably impact on the quality of life in breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.Fatigue,lack of appetite and distress are the bridge symptoms in symptom management strategies in potentially improving the efficiency of intervention and reducing the costs to patient.
