Effectiveness of planned teaching programme on knowledge regarding prevention and management of thrombophlebitis in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy among staff nurses

Abstract

As chemotherapy administration is the responsibility of the nursing personnel, it has been a major concern of nurses to prevent any damage to the veins resulting from thrombophlebitis. Objectives: The objective of the study was to determine the effectiveness of planned teaching programme on knowledge regarding prevention and management of thrombophlebitis in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy among staff nurses. Method: Quasi experimental design was used to assess the effectiveness of planned teaching programme among staff nurses. 40 staff nurses were selected from selected oncology hospitals using convenient sampling technique. The data were collected with demographic proforma and structured knowledge questionnaire. Result: Analysis was done by descriptive and inferential statistics. Paired t-test was used to compute effectiveness of planned teaching programme. The result showed that in post test 67.5% staff nurses gained average knowledge and 32.5% staff nurses gained good knowledge regarding prevention and management of thrombophlebitis in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. The mean pre-test score of knowledge increased from 12.45 to 22.05 in post test. Conclusion: The study drawn to the conclusion that the planned teaching programme was effective in improving the knowledge of staff nurses regarding prevention and management of thrombophlebitis in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. I. Introduction Cancer is a disease which alters the normal mechanism of the control of growth and proliferation of a cell. It spreads directly to surrounding tissue and to new body organs other than the primary site. The incidence of cancer among the Indian population as per the ICMR in the year 2010 is a total 979,787 cases.(1) Major treatment modalities of cancer are chemotherapy, radiation, immunotherapy and surgery. The choice of particular cancer treatment depends on the stage of cancerous tumor. As per the 2010 statistics about 6 lakh patients all over the country undergo chemotherapy. Chemotherapy, which is a common treatment modality, uses antineoplastic agents in an attempt to destroy tumor cells by interfering cellular functions and multiplication. Chemotherapeutic drugs are known to be the most irritant and a vesicant drug as it has to act on the most deadly, rapidly multiplying cells of cancer. Most chemotherapeutic agents cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, anemia and myelosuppression. Myelosuppression decreases the number of white and red blood cells and platelets and increases the risk for infection and bleeding. Thus increases the chance of thrombophlebitis. Thrombophlebitis is a complication that is commonly associated with intra venous therapy. Thrombophlebitis is a swelling or inflammation of a vein which can be caused by a blood clot. The symptoms often associated with thrombophlebitis are inflammation of the part affected, pain, skin redness and warmth.(2) Chemotherapeutic drugs are infused in vein using peripheral or central catheters. Because of the powerful effect of the chemotherapeutic drugs it cannot be administered through a peripheral intravenous route for a long period of time. So it becomes mandatory to use the available venous access carefully for administering chemotherapeutic drugs. Thus the common complications such as thrombophlebitis and extravasation can be prevented and thereby preventing the permanent damage to the veins.(2) A number of literature articles have written that phlebitis can occur in as much as 25-70% of patients.(3) Nurses are the ones who administer chemotherapy to cancer patients in the ward, so it is necessary that nurses should have adequate knowledge about thrombophlebitis, its prevention and management.