Department of Physiotherapy, Beaumont Hospital Cancer Centre, Dublin, Ireland,
Ir J Med Sci. 2014 Mar;183(1):53-8. doi: 10.1007/s11845-013-0971-5. Epub 2013 Jul 7.
Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a common, potentially reversible side effect of some chemotherapeutic agents. CIPN is associated with decreased balance, function and quality of life (QoL). This association has to date been under-investigated.
To profile patients presenting with CIPN using the modified Total Neuropathy Score (mTNS) in this cross-sectional study and to examine the relationship between CIPN (measured by mTNS) and indices of balance, quality of life (QoL) and function.
Patients receiving neurotoxic chemotherapy regimens were identified using hospital databases. Those who did not have a pre-existing neuropathy were invited to complete mTNS, Berg Balance Scale (BBS), timed up and go (TUG), and FACT-G QoL questionnaire. mTNS scores were profiled and also correlated with BBS, TUG and FACT-G using Spearmans correlation coefficient.
A total of 29 patients undergoing neurotoxic chemotherapy regimens were tested. The patients mTNS scores ranged between 1 and 12 (median = 5), indicating that all patients had clinical evidence of neuropathy on mTNS. No significant correlations were found between mTNS and BERG (r = -0.29), TUG (r = 0.14), or FACT-G (r = 0.05).
This study found a high prevalence of CIPN in patients treated with neurotoxic chemotherapy regimens. The mTNS provided a clinically applicable, sensitive screening tool for CIPN which could prove useful in clinical practice. mTNS did not correlate with BBS, TUG or FACT-G in this sample, possibly due to relatively mild levels of CIPN and consequent subtle impairments which were not adequately captured by gross functional assessments.
化疗引起的周围神经病（CIPN）是一些化疗药物的常见、潜在可逆转的副作用。CIPN 与平衡、功能和生活质量（QoL）下降有关。迄今为止，这种关联尚未得到充分研究。
在这项横断面研究中，使用改良总神经病变评分（mTNS）对出现 CIPN 的患者进行分析，并检查 CIPN（用 mTNS 测量）与平衡、生活质量（QoL）和功能的指标之间的关系。
使用医院数据库确定接受神经毒性化疗方案的患者。邀请那些没有先前存在的神经病的患者完成 mTNS、伯格平衡量表（BBS）、计时起立行走（TUG）和 FACT-G QoL 问卷。对 mTNS 评分进行分析，并使用斯皮尔曼相关系数与 BBS、TUG 和 FACT-G 进行相关。
共测试了 29 名接受神经毒性化疗方案的患者。患者的 mTNS 评分范围在 1 到 12 之间（中位数=5），表明所有患者的 mTNS 均有临床证据表明患有神经病。mTNS 与 BERG（r=-0.29）、TUG（r=0.14）或 FACT-G（r=0.05）之间均无显著相关性。
本研究发现接受神经毒性化疗方案的患者中 CIPN 的患病率较高。mTNS 为 CIPN 提供了一种临床适用、敏感的筛查工具，在临床实践中可能有用。在本样本中，mTNS 与 BBS、TUG 或 FACT-G 不相关，可能是由于 CIPN 水平相对较轻，因此细微的损伤未被全面的功能评估充分捕捉到。
