• Ranhee Park and Chaisoon Park.
• Author Affiliations: Department of Oncology, St Mary's Hospital (Dr R. Park), and College of Nursing (Dr C. Park), The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul.
• Cancer Nurs. 2015 May 1; 38 (3): 239-47.

BackgroundIn a clinical setting, patients have been observed to complain of discomfort and to discontinue treatment because of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), but few data exist regarding the quality of life in these patients in Korea.ObjectiveThe purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to analyze the effects of foot bathing and massage in patients with CIPN.MethodsSubjects included 48 patients with CIPN, who were hospitalized in C University Hospital. The subjects were alternately assigned to 1 of 2 groups according to their registration order. The interventions consisted of 8 treatments of foot bathing or massage over a period of 2 weeks, at 30 minutes per session, every other day.ResultsThe foot skin temperature increased significantly in the foot bathing group, whereas it decreased significantly in the massage group. Quality of life was significantly increased in the foot bathing group, whereas it was significantly decreased in the massage group.ConclusionsAlthough foot bathing and foot massage are both supportive care techniques for CIPN patients, foot bathing was more effective than foot massage on skin temperature, grade of neurotoxicity, and quality of life. Additional well-designed studies are recommended, so that the effectiveness of foot bathing and foot massage is confirmed.Implications For PracticeFoot bathing is more useful as supportive care with respect to nonpharmacologic interventions for alleviating CIPN and promoting the quality of life in cancer patients.

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