Congress Abstracts 2006

256

A STUDY OF TASTE CHANGE STRATEGIES IN PATIENTS RECEIVING CHEMOTHERAPY. Maureen Rehwaldt, RN, DNSC, Midwest Palliative and Hospice Carecenter, Glenview, IL; Sandy Purl, MSN, RN, AOCN^®, Lutheran General Oncology Specialists, Park Ridge, IL; Joseph Tariman, RN/APN, MN, APRN, BC, OCN^®, Northwestern University Medical Center, Chicago, IL; Carol Blendowski, RN, MS, OCN^®, and Susan Shott, PhD, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL; and Rita Wickham, RN, PhD, AOCN^®, Rush University College of Nursing, Chicago, IL.

Chemotherapeutic agents have a wide range of adverse symptoms. One symptom that may be overlooked as an important symptom by oncology nurses and physicians are taste changes experienced by some cancer patients during chemotherapy. Studies have substantiated that cancer patients experience significant taste changes and are able to manage these changes with a variety of interventions, most of which are not research-based. Documentation of these interventions is necessary in order to determine the impact and to provide needed information to patients to manage this symptom.

This study examines the strategies patients use to relieve taste changes associated with chemotherapy and to describe other factors related to taste changes.

Orem's Self Care Theory is the conceptual framework that guides this study.

This multi-site study of ambulatory cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy has a quasi-experimental, pre post design. Patients who had experienced taste changes were given an initial survey developed for this study to assess different taste changes as well as interventions patients may have tried. An educational session was then given on specific suggestions to manage taste changes. At the second visit, patients were again assessed for different taste changes and specific suggestions they used. Nonparametric statistical methods with a 2-sided 0.05 significance level were used for analysis.

42 subjects completed at least 1 questionnaire. 83% were female. The majority of patients had breast cancer, followed by lung, ovarian and other cancers. The most common taste changes were metallic taste, no sense of taste, and bitter taste. Most patients reported that taste changes affected their ability to eat. The most helpful suggestions were: avoiding foods with strong smells/taste; marinating meat; eating smaller, more frequent meals; eating more bland foods; eating more flavored protein foods; using more salt; brushing teeth before eating; drinking more water with food; using more condiments; increase use of seasoning/spice. Patients receiving Cytoxan found use of condiments to be more helpful than did patients receiving carboplatin. Findings suggest that oncology nurses can inform patients about taste changes that may occur during chemotherapy and recommend specific self-care strategies before patients begin chemotherapy which will lessen the severity of taste changes and support patient's satisfaction with their own self-care.