[Effectiveness of a consensus protocol for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting]

Abstract

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of a consensus protocol for the prevention of CINV at our institution and level of adherence to it.

Method: Prospective observational study. Patients treated with chemotherapy (CT) in whom a 120-hour follow-up was made after the cycle were included. We assessed the response to the therapy, categorized as: complete response (CR) (absence of nausea and vomiting, without the need of additional treatment within the 120 hours following the cycle), acute response (AR) (within the first 24 hours) and delayed response (DR) (within 24 and 120 hours), depending on whether or not these were adjusted to the hospital protocol. A descriptive statistical analysis was performed analyzing the different risk factors and level of adherence to the hospital protocol.

Results: A total of 167 patients were included in whom CR was observed in 71.9% of the cases (88.9% AR and 73.7% DR), with absence of vomiting in 89.8%. Seven point two percent of the cases did not adhere to the protocol. There were no differences in treatment response between the patients adhering and adhering to the protocol (CR, AR o DR) but yes in vomiting occurrence (8.3% vs. 36.4%, p = 0.014).

Conclusion: The effectiveness of our protocol is good specially for controlling the vomiting although nausea during the delayed phase still is a not resolved matter. Vomiting control is poorer in those patients not adjusting to the protocol.