The effects of TCM nursing intervention on the life quality of cancer patients with pain: a review of recent research

摘要

Highlights As a complementary and alternative therapy to Western analgesics, traditional Chinese medicine nursing has unique advantages in relieving pain in patient with cancer and can effectively improve quality of life. Editor’s Summary The conventional analgesics are selected to relieve pain in patient with cancer; however, their adverse reactions seriously affect the patient’s quality of life (QOL). Traditional Chinese medicine nursing can improve clinical symptoms and QOL through massage, external treatment of Chinese herbs, auricular therapy, etc. as well as reduce the toxic side effects of analgesics, making it worthy of clinical popularization and application. Tumor pain is common in patients with advanced cancer, 70-80 % have varying degrees of pain. Treatment of cancer pain has become a difficult issue in oncology, poor pain control often seriously affects the patients' quality of life (QOL). Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) nursing intervention can improve symptoms and QOL through massage, external treatment of TCM, and auricular therapy, which have unique curative effects such as regulating Qi (a vital force that forms part of living entity in traditional Chinese culture) and blood, stabilizing the mind, and enhancing immunity. Not only does TCM nursing intervention prevent disease but also cultivates the mind, helps achieve systemic relaxation, and reduces the pain of cancer patients and the toxic side effects of painkillers, so as to improve QOL and satisfaction, making it worthy of clinical popularization and application. At present, there is an urgent need to carry out high-quality, multi-center, large-sample randomized controlled trials and develop a standardized TCM nursing intervention implementation scheme and efficacy standards to promote its application.