The Effect of Cold Therapy on the Prevention of Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy in Oncology Patients: A Systematic Review Study.

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of cold therapy on the prevention of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy in oncology patients.

Methods: This review was prepared based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyzes. The Medline, CINAHL, Embase, Cochrane Library, PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science databases were searched for studies published between January 1997 and June 2024. Two reviewers independently evaluated study suitability and extracted data. The Jadad critical appraisal scale and Methodological Index for Non-Randomized Studies (MINORS) risk of bias tool was used for quality assessment. The findings of this review are presented using a narrative synthesis.

Results: Overall, cold therapy was effective in preventing CIPN in more than half of the studies. Cold therapy methods such as cold hilotherapy, frozen gloves and socks, cold mitts and slippers, and cooling gloves/socks were found to be the most effective in six studies. In contrast, three studies that applied interventions like frozen gloves and socks, crushed ice, and various cooling methods did not show a significant effect.

Conclusion: Cold therapy was found to be a reasonable option for preventing CIPN in patients receiving taxane-based chemotherapy, as it does not result in serious side effects. Due to the heterogeneity of studies with different methods, sample sizes and measurement procedures for CIPN, it is difficult to make a clear statement about the duration and temperature of cold application that the patient can tolerate.

Implications for nursing practice: Cold therapy can provide a useful option for the prevention of CIPN in patients receiving taxane-based chemotherapy. Nurses should increase patient and provider awareness of the benefits of cold therapy for CIPN.

Prospero registration id: CRD42024619942.