Prevalence and Predictors of Cisplatin Induced Peripheral Neuropathy at the Kenyatta National Hospital

Abstract

Background Peripheral neuropathy is a common and significant chronic complication of cancer chemotherapeutic drugs especially the platinum compounds like cisplatin. The prevalence of peripheral neuropathy due to cisplatin in not known in our region. We, sought out to determine the prevalence and risk factors in our setup. Objective To determine the prevalence, predictors and/or risk factors of chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy in patients undergoing chemotherapy with cisplatin at Kenyatta National Hospital. StudyDesign Cross-sectional descriptive survey. Methods This was a cross-sectional analysis of consecutive sampled cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy with cisplatin for at least two months at the Kenyatta National Hospital oncology units. Consented participants’ demographic data and focused medical history and neurological exam was by use of structured pre-tested questionnaires. Data was presented in the form of tables and graphs. Descriptive inferential statistics such as means, medians and proportions were determined where applicable Results We recruited 67 patient who were undergoing chemotherapy with cisplatin. Fifty six (83.6%) patients had neuropathy. Forty five (81%) had mild grade (grade 1, and grade 2) of peripheral neuropathy. Two (3.1%) patients had severe or grade 4 neuropathy. None of the risk factors that we evaluated were statistically significant. Conclusion In conclusion, we found that peripheral neuropathy due to cisplatin based therapy is quite prevalent (83.6%). Most of our patients had mild peripheral neuropathy.