ANTICIPATORY NAUSEA AND VOMITING IN AN AMBULATORY MEDICAL ONCOLOGY POPULATION

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  • 1 January 1983
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 67  (12) , 1093-1098
Abstract
The prevalence of anticipatory nausea (AN) and anticipatory nausea and vomiting (ANV) were studied in an ambulatory medical oncology population by self-report questionnaire over 7 wk. Of 123 patients receiving parenteral chemotherapy 38 (31%) reported anticipatory symptoms (AN or ANV). Twenty-one (17%) patients reported ANV and 17 (14%) reported AN only. Patients receiving parenteral chemotherapy (N = 123) with anticipatory symptoms (N = 38) were younger (45.1 .+-. SE 1.9 vs. 55.5 .+-. 1.45, P < 0.001) and more likely to be female (82 vs. 61%, P = 0.04), unmarried (47 vs. 26%, P = 0.03) and receiving adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer (42 vs. 7% P < 0.001) than patients without anticipatory symptoms (N = 85). A greater proportion of patients with both postchemotherapy nausea and vomiting and anticipatory symptoms reported > 12 h of postchemotherapy nausea (65 vs. 39%, P = 0.01) and postchemotherapy nausea and vomiting (37 vs. 12%, P = 0.01) after their most recent cycle of chemotherapy than did patients with postchemotherapy symptoms only. In structured interviews with 23 patients with anticipatory symptoms, 16 identified specific stimuli associated with AN or ANV, taste being the most frequently mentioned (10 of 16 patients) sensory modality. Patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer develop anticipatory symptoms frequently and represent a relatively homogenous sample for further studies.