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. 2021 Apr 15;13(4):3626-3633.
eCollection 2021.

The effect of evidence-based nursing program of progressive functional exercise of affected limbs on patients with breast cancer-related lymphoedema

Yufen Zhuang  1 , Zhaoyan Pan  2 , Minxiang Li  3 , Zan Liu  4 , Yudan Zhang  1 , Qian Huang  5
Affiliations

The effect of evidence-based nursing program of progressive functional exercise of affected limbs on patients with breast cancer-related lymphoedema

Yufen Zhuang et al. Am J Transl Res. .

Abstract

Objective: This study explored and analyzed the effect of evidence-based nursing program of progressive exercise on patients with breast cancer-related lymphoedema.

Methods: 78 breast cancer patients who underwent breast cancer surgery in our hospital from January to December 2018 were chosen as the control group, and 83 patients enrolled from January to December 2019 with the same condition were selected as the observation group. The control group was given routine nursing measures after surgery, while the observation group was given the evidence-based nursing (EBN) program of progressive functional exercise on affected limbs after breast cancer surgery. The postoperative lymphedema, function recovery of upper limb, score of quality life and the satisfaction of patients to nursing were compared between the two groups.

Results: The degree of lymphedema in the observation group was significantly lower than that in the control group 4 weeks after surgery (P<0.05). The limb lifting function, abduction function and rotatory function of the observation group were significantly superior to those of the control group (P<0.05). The scores of physiological status, emotional status, functional status and additional concerns in the observation group were significantly higher than those in the control group 4 weeks after operation (25.46±3.97 vs. 16.95±4.17; 24.74±3.11 vs. 17.42±2.86; 25.48±1.69 vs. 25.48±1.69; 24.51±4.12 vs. 18.32±2.56) (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in social/family status scores between the two groups (P>0.05). Additionally, the satisfaction of patients in the observation group to nursing care was also significantly higher than that in control group (P<0.05).

Conclusion: The evidence-based nursing program of progressive exercise can effectively reduce the lymphedema of patients after breast cancer surgery, improve their postoperative upper limbs function, and effectively promote the quality of life and nursing satisfaction, which is worthy of clinical promotion.

Keywords: Function exercise of progressive limbs; breast cancer-related lymphoedema; evidence-based nursing program.

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Conflict of interest statement

None.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Comparison of quality of life between the two groups.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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