Symptom clusters and influencing factors for patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma undergoing concurrent chemoradiation therapy

Abstract:

Objective：To explore the symptom clusters and influencing factors for patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma（NPC） un－dergoing concurrent chemoradiation therapy（CCRT）. Methods：A random sample of patients completed the M. D. Anderson symptom inventory-head & neck（MDASI-H&N）. The exploratory factor analysis was conducted to do cross-sectional investigation. Results：A total of 235 patients completed the survey. Varieties of symptoms were generally identified in NPC patients. The most severe symp－toms were dysgeusia，dry mouth and mouth/throat mucus. The exploratory factor analysis of symptoms revealed four major symptom clusters，which were oral mucosa-associated，gastrointestinal，sickness-behavior and general symptom clusters. Predictors on the in－tensity of symptom clusters were medicare type and health insurance according to the results of multiple regression analysis. Conclu－sion：Symptom clusters are identified in NPC patients. Recognition of these symptom clusters can relieve the symptom of patients and is useful for medical staff to assess and provide effective interventions.