Effects of reflexology on chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy in patients with colorectal cancer referred to selected hospitals of Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Iran, in 2019

Background and aim: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer and the fourth leading cause of death in the world. Systemic therapies for the early and advanced stages of the disease may develop chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN). The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of reflexology on the CIPN in the patients with CRC. Materials and methods: The present interventional study was conducted on 70 patients with CRC randomly assigned in two equal groups (n=35) of experimental and control. Data were collected using S-LANSS scale and demographic information questionnaire. The executive protocol of reflexology was practically trained for the patient caregiver. After four weeks of intervention, the questionnaires were re-completed by patients of both groups. Data were analyzed by SPSS software using independent t-test and paired t-test. Results: A significant decrease in the mean score of pain intensity was observed in the experimental group after the intervention compared to the control group (p-value<0.001). Conclusion: Our findings demonstrated that the reflexology had a positive effect on improving the pain intensity of CIPN patients in the experimental group, so nurses can exploit the results of this study to improve patients' comfort and convenience.