Characteristics and Quality of Life in Patients with Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of study was to identify how patients experienced chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) and quality of life related to CIPN. Methods: This was a descriptive research. We collected data from 105 patients with chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy. They completed a self-reported questionnaire including EORTC (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group) CIPN20 and items related to their disease and peripheral neuropathy. The investigators filled in part of items about disease and treatment. Results: In the study, duration of peripheral neuropathy was 9.4 month and 54.3% of patients used pharmacological or non-pharmacological interventions. Patients reported the highest score for sensory scale and it’s score was 38.74±20.24. The scores for motor scale and autonomic scale were 21.95±19.19 and 26.61±21.0 respectively. This showed that patients more suffered from sensory neuropathy than any other domain of neuropathy. The most frequently selected two items were ‘did you have tingling fingers or hands?’ and ‘did you have tingling toes or feet?’. Conclusion: The results of this study will provide useful information for chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy.