Background:

Patients with cancer are often impacted by a significant symptom burden. Cancer hospitals increasingly recognize the value of complementary and integrative therapies to support the management of cancer related symptoms. The aim of this study is to provide a better understanding of the demographic characteristics and symptoms experienced by cancer patients who access acupuncture services in a tertiary hospital in Australia.

Methods:

A retrospective audit was conducted of patients that presented to the acupuncture service at Chris O’Brien Lifehouse between July 2017 and December 2018. Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS) and Measure Yourself Concerns and Wellbeing (MYCaW) outcome measures were used. The quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and Principal Component Analysis.

Results:

A total of 127 inpatients and outpatients (mean age 55, range 19-85) were included with 441 individual surveys completed (264 ESAS, 177 MYCaW). Patients were predominantly female (76.8%) and breast cancer was the most prevalent primary diagnosis (48%). The most prevalent symptoms in the ESAS were sleep problems (88.6%), fatigue (88.3%), lack of wellbeing (88.1%), and memory difficulty (82.6%). Similarly, symptoms with the highest mean scores were numbness, fatigue, sleep problems and hot flushes, whilst neuropathy, and hot flashes were scored as the most severe (score ≥7) by patients. Cluster analysis yielded 3 symptom clusters, 2 included “physical symptoms” (pain, sleep problems, fatigue and numbness/neuropathy), and (nausea, appetite, general well-being), whilst the third included “psychological” symptoms (anxiety, depression, spiritual pain, financial distress). The most frequent concerns expressed by patients (MyCaW) seeking acupuncture were side effects of chemotherapy (24.6%) and pain (20.8%).

Conclusion:

This audit highlights the most prevalent symptoms, the symptoms with the greatest burden and the types of patients that receive acupuncture services at an Australian tertiary hospital setting. The findings of this audit provide direction for future acupuncture practices and research in hospital settings.

中文翻译：

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肿瘤医院针灸服务患者的特点及症状负担

背景：

癌症患者经常受到显着症状负担的影响。癌症医院越来越认识到补充和综合疗法在支持癌症相关症状管理方面的价值。本研究的目的是更好地了解在澳大利亚一家三级医院接受针灸服务的癌症患者的人口统计学特征和症状。

方法：

对 2017 年 7 月至 2018 年 12 月期间在 Chris O'Brien Lifehouse 接受针灸服务的患者进行了回顾性审核。使用了埃德蒙顿症状评估量表 (ESAS) 和衡量您自己的担忧和幸福感 (MYCaW) 结果措施。使用描述性统计和主成分分析对定量数据进行分析。

结果：

共有 127 名住院患者和门诊患者（平均年龄 55 岁，范围 19-85 岁）被纳入，完成了 441 项个人调查（264 名 ESAS，177 名 MYCaW）。患者主要是女性 (76.8%)，乳腺癌是最普遍的初步诊断 (48%)。ESAS 中最普遍的症状是睡眠问题 (88.6%)、疲劳 (88.3%)、缺乏幸福感 (88.1%) 和记忆力困难 (82.6%)。同样，平均得分最高的症状是麻木、疲劳、睡眠问题和潮热，而神经病变和潮热被患者评为最严重（得分≥7）。聚类分析产生了 3 个症状群，2 个包括“身体症状”（疼痛、睡眠问题、疲劳和麻木/神经病）和（恶心、食欲、总体健康），而第三个包括“心理”症状（焦虑、抑郁） ，精神上的痛苦，财务困境）。寻求针灸的患者 (MyCaW) 表达的最常见问题是化疗的副作用 (24.6%) 和疼痛 (20.8%)。

结论：

此次审核突出了最普遍的症状、负担最重的症状以及在澳大利亚三级医院接受针灸服务的患者类型。本次审计的结果为未来在医院环境中的针灸实践和研究提供了方向。