Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting symptom experience in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer: A qualitative study

Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting are one of the most common adverse reactions in cancer patients during chemotherapy, which can lead to metabolic disorders, nutritional deficiencies, loss of appetite, etc, and seriously affect patients’ quality of life and treatment compliance. This distressing experience lived through by a large number of people makes it a priority in the improvement of cancer patients and a daily concern for nurses in cancer care units. So Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research Statement Checklist were used to be demonstrated these experiences. This study aims to understand the feelings and experience of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer. Information obtained through patient interviews using qualitative research methods. Purposive sampling was used to conduct semistructured interviews with 53 patients with non-small-cell lung cancer who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria from March 2021 to May 2021. The data were analyzed by Colaizzi’s 7-step analysis. Almost all the patients collected by us had malignant nausea (100%) and vomiting (13.2%) on the first day, peaking at the fifth day. The CINV experience of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer can be summarized into 4 themes: patients have different degrees of CINV, patients have insufficient knowledge about the prevention and treatment of CINV, patients’ self-perceived burden is increased, and patients’ social support levels are obviously insufficient. The current status of CINV experience in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer is not optimistic, and it should garner the attention and support of society, hospitals, and families. Understanding the patient’s perspective may help healthcare professionals design patient-centered health education interventions for patients to learn to manage symptoms of CINV and promote patient recovery.