Effect of comprehensive nursing care for the liver cancer patients undergoing interventional therapy in China: A systematic review and meta-analysis

AimsThis review aims to assess the effect of comprehensive nursing care on liver cancer patients undergoing interventional therapy in China.MethodsIn accordance with PRISMA guidelines, we reviewed randomized controlled trials and observational studies assessing the effect of comprehensive nursing care against standard care on liver cancer patients undergoing specific interventional therapies in China, including PubMed, Embase, CENTRAL and CINAHL till June 2023. Data synthesis was conducted using a random-effects model and reported as pooled odds ratio (OR) or mean difference (MD) or standardized mean differences (SMD).ResultsTen Chinese studies with 1682 participants were evaluated. Comprehensive nursing care significantly enhanced patient outcomes in liver cancer treatment. Quality of life improved markedly (OR: 0.16, 95% CI: 0.06-0.41). Notable reductions were observed in anxiety (MD: -8.96, 95% CI: -11.52 to -6.40) and depression (MD: -9.47, 95% CI: -11.79 to -7.14). Patients also experienced increased physical (SMD: 1.70, 95% CI: 1.15-2.25), social (SMD: 1.65, 95% CI: 1.14-2.16) and activity scores (SMD: 1.94, 95% CI: 1.49-2.39), alongside a decrease in post-treatment complications (OR: 0.28, 95% CI: 0.21-0.37), demonstrating the multifaceted benefits of comprehensive care.ConclusionComprehensive nursing care may improve patient outcomes in liver cancer treatment, offering potential benefits in reducing the side effects of interventional therapy. What is already known about this topic? Liver cancer patients undergoing interventional therapy often experience significant physical and psychological challenges. Comprehensive nursing care has been hypothesized to offer potential benefits in addressing these challenges. There is limited evidence on the exact impacts of comprehensive nursing care on these patients, leading to knowledge gaps in its applicability and efficacy.What this paper adds? This review demonstrates that comprehensive nursing care can lead to significant improvements in the quality of life for liver cancer patients in China. This review provides evidence that comprehensive care reduces levels of anxiety and depression in these patients. This review shows that this approach boosts physical, social function and activity scores while also reducing post-treatment complications.The implications of this paper: This paper suggests integrating comprehensive nursing care as a standard practice, given its potential to significantly improve patient outcomes and quality of life. This research emphasizes the importance of equipping oncology nurses with comprehensive care skills and expanding their roles to ensure optimal patient outcomes. Despite promising results, there is a need for further high-quality, randomized controlled trials to confirm these findings and delve deeper into other potential benefits and best practices of comprehensive nursing care for liver cancer patients.