Quality of Life Estimate of Patients with Chemotherapy-Induced Distal Polyneuropathy after High-Intensity Pulsed Magnetic Therapy: a Randomized Clinical Study

Abstract

INTRODUCTION. The development of peripheral polyneuropathy in cancer patients after chemotherapy has a high prevalence and represents an important medical and social problem. Currently, a number of physiotherapeutic methods are used to treat peripheral polyneuropathy induced by chemotherapy (PPIC).
 AIM. To study clinical efficacy of high-intensity pulsed magnetic therapy in patients with PPIC according to indicative quality of life indicators.
 MATERIALS AND METHODS. 90 patients with PPIC were included in the study. The mean age of the patients was 57.3 ± 5.3 years. Two groups were formed by randomization method: control group patients (n = 45) received standard drug therapy; main group patients (n = 45) received 10 high-intensity pulsed magnetic therapy (HIPMT) procedures every other day against the background of standard therapy. We analyzed clinical complaints, pain syndrome according to VAS, EORTC QLQ-CIPN20 scale scores, and quality of life indicators according to SF-36 questionnaire in patients with PPIC on day 20 after the start of clinical intervention.
 RESULTS. After the conducted course of high-intensity pulsed magnetic therapy there was a significant increase in the cohort of patients with a lower degree of severity of PPIC, the proportion of patients with PPIC belonging to subgroups 0–1 degree of severity increased by 6.6 % (p 0.01). Initial limb pain syndrome according to the VAS system in patients with PPIC in the main group decreased from 6.8 ± 1.2 to 2.4 ± 0.8 points (p 0.05). In the control group VAS changed from 7.0 ± 1.1 to 6.3 ± 0.9 scores (p 0.05), which was not statistically significant. It was found that inclusion of high-intensity pulsed magnetic therapy in the treatment program allows for more significant positive changes in sensory, motor and autonomous-vegetative manifestations of PPIC. According to the SF-36 scale, statistically significant differences were found in relation to physical functioning in patients of the main group. There was also an improvement in the indicators reflecting the social components of the quality of life in patients who received the course effect of (HIPMT) from 61 [58.6; 64.4] points to 66 [59.7; 70.0] points by 8.2 % (p 0.05). Psychological health in the main group improved by 17.02 % (p 0.01). In the control group, there were no significant shifts on any of the scales (p 0.05).
 CONCLUSION. The use of the high-intensity pulsed magnetic therapy procedures proved to be highly effective in correcting the main indicators of the quality of life of patients with PPIС.