You have full access to this open access article. Due to frequent treatment side effects and weight loss, colorectal cancer patients require oncologic care and nutritional counseling both during and after hospitalization. The current study evaluated differences in discharge and side effects management and nutritional behavior between colorectal cancer patients of a control group without systematic counseling and of an intervention group with access to structured in- and outpatient oncology nurse and nutritional counseling.
The presented explorative, quantitative, single-center, interventional pilot study is a health services research project with a quasi-experimental design.
The in- and outpatient counseling services were developed and evaluated in the form of a structured nurse-led counseling concept. Intervention group patients profited significantly from inpatient oncology nurse counseling in seven different areas of discharge management. No differences were observed concerning patient-reported general and gastrointestinal side effects except for xerostomia and dysphagia, but of the patients participating in both in- and outpatient oncology nurse counseling, Counselor-reported outcomes concerning gastrointestinal side effects showed improvement in most of the patients taking part in systematic in- and outpatient nutritional counseling, except for weight loss in 4 patients.
In- and outpatient counseling in discharge and side effects management and nutrition improve the outcomes of colorectal cancer patients. Outpatient counseling should be further developed and evaluated in future studies. With almost 59, new cases each year, colorectal cancer is the second most common malignant disease in Germany Robert-Koch-Institut Colorectal cancer patients require professional help to develop self-management strategies to deal with anxiety and insecurity Appleton et al.
They require qualified counseling to stabilize their body weight through sufficient intake of energy and protein Arends et al. High-quality cancer care should thus incorporate such measures until completion of treatment Kreitler Several studies have shown that colorectal cancer patients have a requirement for nurse counseling regarding the management of symptoms and side effects Tung et al.
