A Longitudinal Study on the Correlation Between Perioperative Symptom Clusters and Fear of Disease Progression In Elderly Patients with Lung Cancer
ZHANG Ruihua
YUYan
SHEN Qingfei
ZHENG Lu
YE Xinxin
ZHU Yanli
Abstract：Objective To exprole the symptom clusters and fear of disease progression in elderly lung cancer patients at different time points during the perioperative period,analyze their correlation,so as to provide a basis for clinical medical staff to dynamically manage their symptom clusters and alleviate patients'fear of disease.Methods A total of 174 elderly patients with lung cancer undergoing surgical treatment in a Grade III Level A hospital in Hangzhou,from November 2023 to May 2024 were conveniently selected as the research subjects.Data were collected at admission day,2～4 days post-surgery,and 1 month post-surgery,using a General Information Questionnaire,the Chinese version of the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory-Lung Cancer Module,and the Fear of Progression Questionnaire-Short Form.Results Three symptom clusters emerged on admission:respiratory,pain-fatigue-sleep disorder,and psycho-emotional cluster.At 2～4 days post-surgery and 1 month post-surgery,two additional clusters(digestive and neurological)emerged,resulting in five total clusters.Although the composition of symptom clusters varied at different time points,the perioperative symptom clusters showed relative stability in elderly patients with lung cancer.Significant differences were observed in the total score and all dimension scores of fear of disease progression(P<0.01).On admission,both the pain-fatigue-sleep disorder cluster and the psycho-emotional cluster were positively correlated with the total score of fear of disease progression and its all dimensional scores(P<0.05).At 2～4 days post-surgery and 1 month post-surgery,all five symptom clusters were positively correlated with the total score of fear of disease progression and its all dimensional scores(P<0.01 or P<0.05).Conclusion Elderly patients with lung cancer exhibit multiple stable symptom clusters during the perioperative period,with cluster severity significantly positively correlated with fear of disease progression.Medical staff should strengthen the dynamic management of perioperative symptom clusters to help patients alleviate their fear of the disease.
Keywords：elderlylung cancer patientsperioperative periodsymptom clustersfear of disease progressionnursingope rationlongitudinal study
Publication Date：2025-12-10
Online Publishing Date：2026-01-05(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：6( 1069-1074 )