Comparative trial of clinical relaxation and an antiemetic drug regimen in reducing chemotherapy-related nausea and vomiting

Abstract

A comparative trial of relaxation training and a metoclopramide-dexamethasone-diphenhydramine regimen demonstrated some degree of antiemetic effect for both methods in patients receiving highly emetic cancer chemotherapy. The drug regimen clearly was more powerful in blocking the peak phase of vomiting in most patients. However, the total emetic period was 4 h shorter in the relaxation group. A newly developed, more specific tool for measuring emetic response, the Emetic Process Rating Scale, was evaluated and found clinically useful by eight nurse clinicians supporting patients in the study. In addition, a new pre-chemotherapy teaching program was created and is in current use with patients receiving highly emetic cancer chemotherapy.