Diagnostic accuracy study of the clinical indicators of vascular trauma in patients undergoing antineoplastic chemotherapy in peripheral veins

Abstract

Antineoplastic chemotherapy patients are susceptible to vascular trauma. The identification of this problem is possible through accurate clinical indicators. However, there are few diagnostic accuracy studies of vascular trauma in these patients. Thus, the objective was to analyze the accuracy of clinical indicators of vascular trauma in antineoplastic chemotherapy patients. A diagnostic accuracy study was carried out with a sample of 200 patients undergoing antineoplastic chemotherapy, in an oncology reference clinic, during 2018. A data collection form was created with sociodemographic and clinical data and indicators of vascular trauma. The sensitivity and specificity of the clinical indicators were assessed using a latent class analysis of random effects. The clinical indicators of decreased vascular elasticity (0.8384), pain (0.9573), and signs of infection at the catheter insertion site (0.9999) were specific for identifying vascular trauma in antineoplastic chemotherapy patients. The prevalence of vascular trauma in these patients was 11.17%. A set of three clinical indicators was considered accurate and statistically significant for confirming vascular trauma. This study has provided accurate clinical indicators of vascular trauma in antineoplastic chemotherapy patients. These results can contribute to establishing interventions, thereby reducing costs and maximizing health outcomes in this population.