Management of acute cancer treatment-induced diarrhea.

Jean Stern, Cindy Ippoliti

Journal: Seminars in oncology nursing 2004;19(4 Suppl 3):11-6

PMID: 14702928

Full Text on Elsevier Science View on PubMed

Abstract

OBJECTIVES

To describe the dietary and pharmacologic management of acute CTID.

DATA SOURCES

Primary and secondary literature, and clinical experience.

CONCLUSION

When dietary strategies do not work, or when patients present with grade 3/4 diarrhea, pharmacologic intervention is required. First-line therapy should be initiated quickly with loperamide or diphenoxylate/atropine in recommended doses. Somatostatin analogues are effective as second-line therapy or as first-line therapy for patients with grade 3/4 diarrhea.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE

Oncology nurses should strive to match treatment with the severity of symptoms of CTID. Whatever therapy is chosen, the goal must be to quickly control this debilitating and potentially life-threatening side effect so that primary chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy may be resumed and completed.

Address: M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, University of Texas, Houston, TX, USA.

DOI: 10.1053/j.soncn.2003.09.009

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MeSH Terms: Antidiarrheals, Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols, Atropine, Diarrhea, Diphenoxylate, Humans, Loperamide, Neoplasms, Nurse's Role, Nurse-Patient Relations, Nursing Assessment, Nursing Methodology Research, Octreotide, Oncology Nursing, Quality of Life