Observational Study
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World J Clin Cases. Feb 26, 2022; 10(6): 1826-1833
Published online Feb 26, 2022. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i6.1826
Empathetic nursing with mindful cognitive therapy for fatigue, depression, and negative emotions in leukemia patients undergoing long-term chemotherapy
Ying-Ying Lu, Xiao-Min Lu, Chun-Yan Shao, Chen-Chen Wang, Ting-Ting Xu, Bei-Lei Zhang
Ying-Ying Lu, Xiao-Min Lu, Chun-Yan Shao, Chen-Chen Wang, Ting-Ting Xu, Bei-Lei Zhang, Department of Medical Oncology, Affiliated Haian Hospital of Nantong University, Haian 226600, Jiangsu Province, China
Author contributions: Lu YY performed the data analysis and wrote the manuscript; Lu XM designed the study and prepared the figures and tables; Shao CY corrected the manuscript; Wang CC, Xu TT, and Zhang BL participated in data collection; all authors approved the final manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by Affiliated Haian Hospital of Nantong University Ethics Committee.
Informed consent statement: Informed written consent was obtained from the patients for publication of this report.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest associated with this article.
Data sharing statement: Technical appendix, statistical code, from the corresponding author.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement-checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement-checklist of items.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Chun-Yan Shao, Nurse, Department of Medical Oncology, Affiliated Haian Hospital of Nantong University, No. 17 Zhongba Middle Road, Haian 226600, Jiangsu Province, China. scyyan12@163.com
Received: November 21, 2021
Peer-review started: November 21, 2021
First decision: December 9, 2021
Revised: December 23, 2021
Accepted: January 11, 2022
Article in press: January 11, 2022
Published online: February 26, 2022
Processing time: 94 Days and 3.3 Hours
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

Leukemia is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. Treatment may involve some combination of chemotherapy, radiation therapy, targeted therapy, and bone marrow transplant. Among these, chemotherapy is a standard treatment and beneficial for most patients. However, patients may experience many different chemotherapy-related side effects, such as discomfort, anxiety, and fatigue, significantly affecting comfort and well-being during and after cancer treatment. Empathetic nursing with mindfulness cognitive therapy (ENMCT) is a mild form of therapy that can reconcile the body and spirit through the mindfulness-based method. Numerous studies have shown that ENMCT enormously empowers patients with chronic pain, hypertension, heart disease, and psychological problems, such as depression and anxiety, and improves the well-being of cancer patients. However, these methods have rarely been used in China. Thus, we performed this randomized controlled trial to explore the effect of ENMCT on cancer-induced fatigue, hope level, and negative emotions in patients with long-term leukemia chemotherapy.

Research motivation

This article aims to explore the effect of ENMCT on cancer-induced fatigue, hope level, and negative emotions in patients with long-term leukemia chemotherapy.

Research objectives

A randomized control study was designed and performed to assess whether ENMCT can improve the health outcomes of Chinese leukemia patients. This research proved that ENMCT is an inexpensive, non-invasive, effective complementary therapy for leukemia associated with relaxation and pain reduction.

Research methods

In this study, a total of 103 patients with long-term leukemia chemotherapy diagnosed and treated were enrolled and randomly assigned to the observation and control groups using the random number table approach. After three months of nursing care, cancer-induced fatigue was measured with the PFS, hope level with the HHI, and negative emotion with the HAMA Scale/HAMD Scale. In addition, self-management ability was also recorded.

Research results

After the intervention, the observation group’s total scores in behavior, cognition, emotion, feeling, and Piper Fatigue Scale were lower than the control group. Moreover, keeping close contact with others, the attitude of taking positive actions, the attitude toward reality and the future, and the total Herth Hope Index score were higher in the observation group than the control group. The observation group’s Hamilton Anxiety Scale and Hamilton Depression Scale scores were lower than the control group. The observation group’s positive attitude, self-decision, and self-relief scores were greater than the control group.

Research conclusions

Empathetic nursing with cognitive mindfulness therapy is beneficial in improving cancer-related fatigue, negative emotions, expectation level, and self-management ability in patients with long-term leukemia chemotherapy.

Research perspectives

This research proved ENMCT is a mild and effective intervention that benefits leukemia patients receiving chemotherapy. It can be carried out in a nursing environment and is easily acceptable by leukemia patients, which might improve leukemia treatment schemes.