Main Session
Sep
28
PQA 03 - Digital Health Innovation and Informatics, Patient Safety & Quality, and Radiation and Cancer Biology
2535 - The Impact of Therapist-Led Professional Counseling on Emotions and Multiple Clinical Indicators in Patients with Cervical Cancer Undergoing Brachytherapy: A Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial
Presenter(s)
Juan Ma, - Department of Radiation Oncology, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University., Xi’an, shaanxi
J. Ma1, F. Bai2, and L. N. Zhao3; 1Department of Radiation Oncology, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University., Xi’an, shaanxi, China, 2Department of Radiation Oncology, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, xi'an, Shaanxi, China, 3Department of Radiation Oncology, First Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, China
Purpose/Objective(s):
Previous studies have reported that patients undergoing brachytherapy for cervical cancer often face multiple factors such as pain, anxiety, and inadequate bowel preparation. This study aims to observe the effects of therapist-led specialized counseling on patients' pain, anxiety, rectal gas, and OAR dose.Materials/Methods:
This study included patients who received brachytherapy consecutively at our center from January 2025 to December 2025. All patients, after completing a full pelvic irradiation dose of 50Gy, were scheduled to receive brachytherapy of 32Gy in 4 fractions. Patients with their first appointment were randomly divided (using a random number table method) into an intervention group and a control group. For the intervention group patients at their first appointment, therapists provided a detailed introduction to the brachytherapy process, plan design, treatment room tour, dietary adjustment, bowel emptying before treatment, and so on, followed by approximately 30 minutes of professional patient counseling. For the control group patients at their first appointment, routine health education was provided without additional professional counseling. Data collection for HADS (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale) and NRS (Numerical Rating Scale) was conducted for both groups at the first appointment, first treatment, and third treatment. The study observed the effects of the two groups on pain, anxiety, rectal gas, and OAR dose.Results:
A total of 46 patients were included in the analysis, with 23 in the intervention group and 23 in the control group. The first appointment patients' HADS-A scores (intervention group: 9.81±1.69, control group: 9.74±2.29, P=0.83), HADS-D scores (intervention group: 7.91±2.58, control group: 8.04±2.39, P=0.63), and NRS pain scores (intervention group: 6.62±1.32, control group: 6.73±1.27, P=0.59) were also not statistically different. After professional counseling intervention, the patients' HADS-A scores (intervention group: 4.54±2.76, control group: 8.74±2.53, P<0.05), HADS-D scores (intervention group: 3.78±1.73, control group: 7.76±2.43, P<0.05), NRS pain scores (intervention group: 2.52±1.78, control group: 5.93±1.58, P<0.05), treatment time (intervention group: 13.89±2.65 minutes, control group: 18.48±1.98 minutes, P<0.05), patient treatment rectal gas volume (intervention group: 7.81±9.69 cc, control group: 29.54±13.19 cc, P<0.05). OAR dose analysis showed that there was no statistically significant difference in bladder D2cc and small intestine D2cc between the two groups of patients, but rectal D2cc (intervention group: 69.45±2.74 Gy, control group: 71.51±1.76 Gy, P=0.006).Conclusion:
This prospective study shows that therapist-led specialized counseling can effectively alleviate patients' negative emotions and pain, reduce the duration of brachytherapy treatment procedures, improve patients' intestinal conditions, and lower the dose to OARs.