Effect of Cold Pack Applications on Chemotherapy-Induced Injuries of Blood Vessels

Abstract

Intravenous traumatic injury induced by 5-FU injections causes vascular inflammation, anomaly and drug leakage, resulting in difficulties to inject chemotherapy drugs in the follow-up chemotherapy programs. Chemotherapy-induced injuries in blood vessel can be obviously prolonged if the injection sites are not properly cared for. This study aimed to investigate the effect of cold pack applications in the area of the drug entry to reduce the injury to the blood vessels and some factors involved. A self-controlled (before and after) study design was used and 55 cancer patients were recruited if they were admitted to receive 5-FU during January-May 2017 with previous history of phlebitis or serpentine supra-venous streaks after 5FU injection. After recruitment, each volunteer was treated at a new injection site followed by applying a cold pack (temperature of 10-25 oC) for 10-15 minutes and then a second cold pack after 4 hours. Two weeks after the cold pack treatments, the injection site of each patient was visually observed by the researcher. There were 30.9% venous thrombosis and cold pack intervention group, in comparison to 100% in the control group, observed 2 weeks after 5-FU injection (p <0.001).Multinomial logistic regression analysis gave the OR for phlebitis, high-dose chemotherapy and sunlight exposure of 4.6, 4.3 and 3.5,respectively. It is concluded that cold-pack applications after 5-FU injection showed some potential in the reduction in venous thrombosis at the injection sites.