Patient-directed behavioral-physical interventions to alleviate acute hiccups associated with chemotherapy: a...

To evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of patient-directed behavioral-physical intervention (BPI) for acute hiccups after chemotherapy in cancer patients.

In this prospective randomized controlled trial, cancer patients scheduled for chemotherapy were randomized into the BPI group and the control group. Patients in the BPI group were provided the Hiccup Knowledge Manual and instructional videos on six non-pharmacological behavioral-physical interventions for hiccups and were encouraged to use the interventions when they experienced acute chemotherapy-induced hiccups (CIH). The control group received routine medical attention. The primary endpoint was the median time to acute hiccup remission. The secondary endpoint was the incidence of anxiety and depression in patients and their family caregivers.

A total of 654 patients scheduled to receive chemotherapy were enrolled and randomly assigned (1:1) to the BPI group or the control group. After chemotherapy, 57 patients in the BPI group and 49 patients in the control group experienced acute hiccups. The median acute hiccup remission time was significantly shorter in the BPI group [0.17 h (95% CI 0.13 to 0.21 h)] than that in the control group [3.00 h (95% CI 1.48 to 4.52 h)] (P < 0.01). The mean anxiety and depression scores of patients were significantly lower in the BPI group than that in the control group (7.21 vs. 9.86, P < 0.01; 7.40 vs. 10.27, P < 0.01, respectively). Similarly, the average anxiety and depression scores of family caregivers were significantly lower in the BPI group than in the control group (3.91 vs. 8.31, P < 0.01; 4.30 vs. 8.90, P < 0.01, respectively).

Learning and self-directed implementation of behavioral-physical interventions have potential effects in shortening the median time to remission of acute CIH. It may also reduce anxiety and depression in patients and their family caregivers. Due to the limitations of this preliminary study, further research is warranted.

The study complied with relevant Chinese laws, rules, and regulations (Measures for the Ethical Review of Biomedical Research Involving Humans, etc.), as well as the WMA Declaration of Helsinki and the CIOMS International Ethics Guidelines for Human Biomedical Research, and followed the protocol approved by the medical ethics committee and the informed consent form to carry out clinical trials (research) to protect the health and rights of subjects. This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Shangjin Nanfu Hospital West China Hospital and was registered in the World Health Organization (WHO) international clinical trials registered organization registered platform ( https://www.chictr.org.cn ; ChiCTR2400081049; February 21, 2024).