Assessment and management of cough among patients with lung cancer in a radiotherapy department in China: a best practice implementation project.

Objectives: This project aimed to implement an evidence-based practice to assess and manage lung cancer-associated cough, thereby relieving patients' physical pain and psychological challenges and improving their quality of life.

Introduction: Cough is one of the most common symptoms experienced by patients with lung cancer. If a cough is not proactively managed, patients may develop decreased compliance with treatments and experience a reduced quality of life. Cough assessment and management are essential components of nursing practice that should include evidence-based interventions.

Methods: Seven evidence-based audit criteria were developed from current evidence. The JBI Practical Application of Clinical Evidence System (PACES) was used to perform a baseline audit on 30 patients and 20 nurses in the Department of Radiotherapy of Nanfang Hospital. The Getting Research into Practice (GRiP) component of PACES was used to identify barriers, strategies, resources and outcomes. Following implementation of strategies to improve compliance, a post-audit was conducted using the same sample size and audit criteria.

Results: The seven evidence-based audit criteria were as follows: 1) Clinicians have received training on the assessment and management of lung cancer-associated cough; 2) In patients with lung cancer-associated cough, a comprehensive assessment was conducted to identify any co-existing causes linked to cough; 3) Any reversible causes of cough were treated according to evidence-based guidelines; 4) A validated scale was used to assess the frequency and severity of cough and distress experienced by the patients; 5) Patients (and their caregivers) have received education regarding management of cough; 6) Patients (and their caregivers) have received training on cough suppression exercises; 7) For symptomatic therapy, a stepwise approach was followed according to evidence-based guidelines. The baseline results showed that compliance rates were 0% for criteria 1, 4 and 5; 70% for criterion 6; 80% for criterion 7; 90% for criterion 3 and 93% for criterion 2. The implementation of strategies to increase compliance with best practice, including establishing training and education programs for nursing staff and patients, utilizing some validated scales to assess the frequency and severity of cough and the distress caused to the patients, and establishing a quality control team to supervise implementation of the assessment and management of cough, achieved ≥ 93% compliance rate for all seven audit criteria.

Conclusion: An evidence-based and nurses-oriented best practice for cough assessment and management was successfully established among patients with lung cancer-associated cough.