The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of foot reflexology on nausea, vomiting and fatigue in breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.

The research was a quasi-experimental study using a non-equivalent pre-post design and was conducted from Jan. 26, to Mar. 20, 2004. The subjects consisted of 34 patients with 18 in the experimental group and 16 in control group. A pretest and 2 posttests were conducted to measure nausea, vomiting and fatigue. For the experimental group, foot reflexology, which was consisted of 4 phases for 40 minutes, was given by a researcher and 4 research assistants. The collected data were analyzed by repeated measures ANOVA using the SPSS WIN 10.0 program.

There was a statistically significant decrease in nausea, and vomiting in the experimental group compared to the control group over two different times. In addition, there was a statistically significant decrease in fatigue in the experimental group compared to the control group over two different times.

Foot reflexology was effective on nausea, vomiting and fatigue in breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy in this study. Therefore, foot reflexology can be usefully utilized as a nursing intervention in the field of cancer nursing for breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.

The purpose of this study was to determine the changes on Index of Nausea, Vomiting, & Retching (INVR) during a cycle of chemotherapy.

Forty-three patients hospitalized for chemotherapy at C University Hospital during a period of 5 days from March to May, 2003 were examined. Scores of INVR were measured once a day. Anxiety, anorexia, fatigue, and sleep satisfaction were measured before chemotherapy. Data was analyzed by repeated measures of ANOVA.

The score of INVR increased over time during the days of hospitalization and showed a peak on the third day. The score was significantly higher on the third and consecutive cycles than on the first and second cycle. The score was significantly higher in patients in their forties and fifties rather than in their sixties. The score was higher in women than in men, and also increased as the sleep satisfaction decreased.

These results suggested that specific interventions for relief of nausea & vomiting were needed in middle age, women, the third chemotherapy cycle, and the third day after chemotherapy.

Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) can cause severe malnutrition. However, relationships between CINV levels, nonpharmacological coping methods, and nutritional status of female cancer patients have rarely been investigated. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze their relationships in gynecologic cancer patients.

Participants receiving a highly and moderately emetogenic chemotherapy were recruited. The level of CINV was assessed using a numeric rating scale. Coping methods were determined using multiple-choice self-report questionnaires and categorized into seven types for statistical analysis. Nutritional status was evaluated using biochemical and anthropometric parameters.

Among all the 485 patients, 200 eligible inpatients were included. Despite the administration of prophylactic antiemetics, 157 patients (78.5%) still experienced CINV, and several used nonmedically recommended coping methods, such as just enduring the symptom or rejecting food intake. A total of 181 patients (90.5%) had nutritional disorders. Although the level of CINV was indirectly related to the occurrence of nutritional disorders, patients who rejected food (b=1.57, p=.023) and did not use physical measures (b= -1.23, p=.041) as coping methods were under the high risk of nutritional disorders.

Korean gynecologic cancer patients had high levels of CINV and were at high risk of nutritional disorders, which may be related to the use of nonscientific coping methods, possibly due to cultural backgrounds and lack of proper nutritional program. Therefore, developing a culturally appropriate educational program for the cancer patients with CINV is urgently needed.

This study was done to evaluate the combination effects of capsicum plaster at the Korean hand acupuncture points K-D2 with prophylactic antiemetic on Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting (PONV).

An experimental research design (a randomized, a double-blinded, and a placebo-control procedure) was used. The participants were female patients undergoing gynecologic laparoscopy; the control group (n=34) received intravenous prophylactic ramosetron 0.3mg, while the experimental group (n=34) had Korean Hand Therapy additionally. In the experimental group, capsicum plaster was applied at K-D2 of both 2nd and 4th fingers by means of Korean Hand Therapy for a period of 30 minutes before the induction of anesthesia and removed 8 hours after the laparoscopy.

The occurrence of nausea, nausea intensity and need for rescue with antiemetic in the experimental group was significantly less than in the control group 2 hours after surgery.

Results of the study show capsicum plaster at K-D2 is an effective method for reducing PONV in spite of the low occurrence of PONV because of the prophylactic antiemetic medication.

This study was done to examine effects of Nei-Guan acupressure on nausea, vomiting and level of satisfaction for gynecological surgery patients who were using a patient-controlled analgesia (PCA).

For this study, 51 patients were assigned to one of three groups, a control group (17 patients), experimental group 1 (finger acupressure group) (17 patients), and experimental group 2 (relief band group) (17 patients). The data were collected for 24 hr in the recovery room of a university hospital located in Seoul. The 6 hr-intervals including the time of leaving the recovery room were taken into consideration.

The occurrence of nausea between the experimental group with Nei-Guan acupressure treatment and the control group was different. However, there was no difference in nausea and vomiting control or level of patient satisfaction between the finger acupressure group and the relief band group.

Nei-Guan acupressure is recommended for nursing practice as a way for alleviating the opioid-induced nausea and accelerating the recovery of patients who are using PCA after surgery.

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of ondansetron combined with dexamethasone on Post-Operative Nausea and Vomiting (PONV) and pain with ondansetron alone in patients with laparoscopy assisted vaginal hysterectomy under general anesthesia.

Data were collected from April 1 through September 30, 2005 using a double blind method. Ondansetron 4 mg and dexamethasone 10 mg were administered to the experimental group (25 patients), and ondansetron 4 mg only to the control group (25 patients). The medications were administered through an intravenous line at the beginning peritoneum suture. PONV by Index of Nausea Vomiting and Retching (INVR), nausea by Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), and pain (VAS) were assessed at postoperative 1 hr, 3 hr, 6 hr, 24 hr, and 48 hr. Data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA, and Bonferroni methods.

The experimental group that received ondansetron combined with dexamethasone had less PONV (p=.048), and nausea (p=.012) than control group that received ondansetron alone. However, there was no difference in pain (p=.557) between the patients in the two groups.

We conclude that the administration of ondansetron combined with dexamethasone is more effective than the administration of ondansetron alone to reduce PONV in patients with laparoscopic hysterectomy.

This study was to identify the effects of Nei-Guan accupressure using a wrist band on postoperative nausea and vomiting after middle ear surgery

The study design was a nonequivalent control group non-synchronized posttest design. Forty patients were assigned into two groups of 20 patients, the wrist band group and the control group. In the wristband group, acupressure was applied with a wrist band on the P6 point at both wrists from 30 min before to 24 hr after anesthesia.

The 1st hypothesis 'Applied wrist band groups will have a greater reduction in the nausea & vomiting grades by INVR than the control group' was accepted (t=2.303, p=.028). The 2nd hypothesis 'The Applied wrist band groups will have a greater reduction in the occurrence of nausea & vomiting than the control group' was partly accepted. The 3rd hypothesis 'The applied wrist band group will have a greater reduction in injection of antiemetics for 24 hr. post anesthesia than the control group' was rejected.

Acupressure on the P6 point using a wrist band is effective to alleviate nausea for middle ear surgery patients.