Incidence and severity of acute nausea and vomiting
Acute nausea was reported by 72 patients (33%) of whom 20 (27.7%)
experienced mild, 32 (44.5%) experienced moderate, and 20 (27.7%)
experienced severe nausea (table 1). Regarding emetogenic potential,
most patients (58; 80%) who experienced acute nausea received either
high or moderate emetogenic chemotherapy (table 7). In addition, a
statistically significant association was found between a high
emetogenic potential and incidence of acute nausea (P=0.003) (table7).
Patients treated in an inpatient setting were found to be more likely to
experience acute nausea (P=0.033) (table 3). No statistically
significant correlation was found between age, sex, diagnosis, and
presence of acute nausea (table 6). Contrary to our expectations, the
association between adherence to guidelines and the occurrence of acute
nausea was not statistically significant (P=0.289) (table 3). A distinct
association was found between acute nausea and acute vomiting (P=0.001),
delayed nausea (P=0.001), delayed vomiting (P=0.002), and food intake
intolerance in both the acute and delayed phases (table 3).
Acute vomiting was reported in 44 patients (20.3%), of whom 34 (78%)
experienced 1–2 vomiting episodes while 10 (22%) experienced ≥3. Most
patients (37; 84%) who experienced acute vomiting received either high
or moderate emetogenic chemotherapy (table 3). However, the associations
between the emetogenic potential and the occurrence of acute vomiting
(P=0.109), and between treatment setting, age, sex, and presence of
acute vomiting were not statistically significant. The association
between adherence to guidelines and the presence of acute vomiting was
statistically significant (P=0.052). Patients with leukemia/lymphoma and
CNS tumors had a significantly higher incidence of acute vomiting. A
distinct association was found between patients with acute vomiting and
their tendency to develop delayed nausea (P=0.026), delayed vomiting
(P=0.002), and food intake intolerance in the acute and delayed phases
(P=0.001) (table 6 ,7).
Food intolerance in the cute phase was reported by 118 patients as
follows: 54 (24.8%) assessments were found to be severe (tolerated
<25% of normal intake), 24 (11%) moderate (tolerated
25–50% of normal intake), and 40 (18.3%) mild (tolerated 50–75% of
normal intake). A strong association was found between food intolerance
and type of chemotherapy emetogenicity (P=0.001) (table 1).