Original Research

Nurse Self-Evaluation of Assessment of Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy in Patients With Cancer

Constance Visovsky, PhD, RN, ACNP-BC, Marilyn Haas, PhD, ANP-BC, Beth Faiman, RN, MS, APRN-BC, AOCN®, Sandra Kurtin, RN, MS, AOCN®, ANP-C, Anne Marie Shaftic, MSN, RN, NP-C, AOCNP®, Elizabeth Lyden, MS, and Janique Rice, MS

From University of South Florida College of Nursing, Tampa, Florida; CarePartners, Asheville, North Carolina; Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio; University of Arizona Cancer Center, Tucson, Arizona; Holy Name Medical Center, Teaneck, New Jersey; University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Supported by independent educational grants from Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and sanofi-aventis U.S.

Correspondence to: Constance Visovsky, PhD, RN, ACNP-BC, University of South Florida, College of Nursing, 12901 Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, MDC 22, Tampa, FL 33612. E-mail: cvisovsk@health.usf.edu

ABSTRACT

The focus of this study was to assess the feasibility and clinical implementation of a standardized assessment for chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) by registered nurses in patients undergoing neurotoxic chemotherapy. A total of 24 registered nurses from 4 different institutions were enrolled into the study. A pre- and posttest design was used to assess changes in nurses’ attitudes, knowledge, and perceived skill in CIPN assessment. Using selected data collection instruments, nurses performed standardized assessments during the course of chemotherapy treatments. Patient-reported symptoms, vibratory sensation, deep-tendon reflexes, and touch were collected at three time points during chemotherapy treatment. Results indicated there was no statistically significant change in knowledge of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy from baseline to the end of the study. However, this finding may be due to poor internal consistency noted among the items of the Nurse Knowledge and Attitudes CIPN Assessment. Implementation of a standardized subjective and objective nursing assessment of CIPN was feasible with a total mean feasibility score of 3.76 (range 0–5) with each individual item scoring between 3.35 and 3.91. The intervention did improve pretest and posttest confidence in performing assessment for CIPN (p = .003).

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