The Development of Anticipatory Nausea in Cancer Chemotherapy: A Prospective Longitudinal Analysis
Previous research investigating the phenomenon of anticipatory nausea in cancer chemotherapy patients has been hampered by the use of retrospective, cross-sectional research designs. The present research investigated the development of anticipatory nausea using a prospective, longitudinal approach. Eighty new chemotherapy outpatients were interviewed immediately before and after each of their chemotherapy infusions through at least their first six months of treatment. Three major issues were focused upon, (a) identification of factors which distinguish patients who develop anticipatory nausea from those who do not, (b) the role of taste and odor sensations during infusions in the development of anticipatory nausea, and (c) description of the course of events preceding and following a patient's initial experience of anticipatory nausea. Results from multiple regression analyses revealed that patients who developed anticipatory nausea were characterized by more severe posttreatment nausea, more time-consuming treatment infusions, and greater reductions in state anxiety between their initial two chemotherapy infusions. Reports of taste and odor sensations during infusions were infrequent and were not related to the subsequent development of anticipatory nausea. Finally, patients were divided into two groups on the basis of whether their initial occurrence of anticipatory nausea was relatively early or late in their course of treatment. Anxiety was related to the development of anticipatory nausea only for patients in the late onset group. For all patients, the treatment immediately preceding their initial occurrence of anticipatory nausea was characterized by markedly elevated posttreatment nausea. Overall, results supported a respondent learning conceptualization of the development of anticipatory nausea with anxiety playing a major contributory role for some patients.
University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign