Symptom management for nausea-vomiting in children receiving cancer treatment: Evidence-based practices

Abstract

Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting which require multidisciplinary approaches are among the most common symptoms in children receiving cancer treatment. Despite advances in antiemetic protocols, difficulties in coping with nausea and vomiting are still ongoing in recent years. Children experiencing uncontrolled nausea and vomiting have many problems such as prolongation of treatment, the decrease in quality of life, fluid-electrolyte imbalance, insufficient nutrition and reduction of adaptation to treatment. In the present review, it is aimed to provide current evidence-based information as a guide for nurses. In addition to pharmacological methods, integrative health approaches are preferred to reduce nausea and vomiting. Nurses should have sufficient knowledge and skills to ensure optimal management of nausea and vomiting. In this respect, it is suggested that nurses should provide guidance/counseling and training on the application of evidence-based therapies and integrative methods. Nurses who work in the pediatric oncology/hematology units should follow the guidelines and transfer this current evidence-based information to their practice. The standardized and current antiemetic treatments based on chemotherapy protocols will improve the quality of life of children and parents by preventing/reducing the nausea-vomiting symptom experienced by children. In this review, it was determined that the assessment tools and standard treatment methods used in the management of nausea and vomiting were insufficient. Therefore, more experimental and evidence-based studies on both pharmacological and integrative methods are recommended for effective management of nausea and vomiting.