EXTRAVASATION CARE CHEMOTHERAPY IN HONG KONG

Extravasation Evidence Based Care Chemotherapy in Hong Kong

Extravasation Evidence Based Care Chemotherapy in Hong Kong

Introduction

Cancer is a major disease in Hong Kong with great social and economic burden. According to the Hong Kong Cancer Registry, 23,750 new cancer cases and 12,093 cancer deaths were recorded in 2006. New cancer cases in Hong Kong has been rising at a annual rate of 2%. While surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy remained to be conventional cancer treatments, 80% of the cancer patients around the world consult complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for more treatment options. Clinicians must have the necessary knowledge and IV management skills to appropriately manage infusions and adverse reactions such as extravasation. Chemotherapy certification courses and periodic refresher training will maintain competency. Environmental stressors causing interruptions or distractions during vesicant drug administration should be minimized or eliminated. This paper considers the problem of extravasation within nursing practice in Hong Kong (Yan et al 2007). It explores a collaborative approach between nurse educationalists and clinical nurses offering the potential to inform and change practice. The conclusion was the development of pre- and post-registration programmes designed to meet the needs of a specialist area (Hadi et al. 2006). Extravasation within chemotherapy is a specialist problem requiring urgent treatment. A critical incident concerning extravasation has been utilised to highlight the need for this specialist information within pre- and post-registration programmes.

Background Problem

In Hong Kong, there are only about 150 newly diagnosed cases of cancer each year. This is less than 1% of all cancer cases in Hong Kong. At present, an average of 40 died of cancer every year. Statistics show no significant increase in children cancer cases in Hong Kong in recent years .Chinese medicine and Western medicine differ fundamentally in their etiological concepts and therapeutic approaches. In Western medicine, cancer is perceived as uncontrolled growth of malignant cells which may be treated by surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. According to Chinese medicine theory, cancer is the manifestation of a qi disturbance which may be treated by mobilizing qi. Study results support the use of Chinese medicine to treat liver cancer and leukaemia, and recent meta-analyses demonstrated that Chinese medicine improved tumor response to chemotherapy as well as patient's survival rates. Five common Chinese medicine modalities, namely Chinese herbal medicine, acupuncture and moxibustion, therapeutic massage, qigong and Chinese dietary therapy have been used to treat cancer. Moreover, acupuncture relieves pain and acute vomiting during conventional cancer treatment

While some researchers suggest that Chinese medicine should be integrated into a comprehensive cancer treatment scheme, cancer patients' attitude towards Chinese medicine is largely unknown. The present study aimed to reveal the prevalence and pattern of the use of Chinese medicine among cancer patients in Hong Kong and to assess their attitudes and intentions about such use.

Literature Review

The expansion of chemotherapy regimes Hong Kong the ways in which they can be administered throughout the cancer trajectory and the settings in which they are given mean that an increasing ...